How far do you let your teenagers ride their bikes?

[ciyates]

I have a 14 DS and he wants to ride his bike to swim practice. It is 7 miles one way on fairly quiet streets. The 2 major intersections have red lights and cross walks. He will not be riding at night. He has a cell phone and would call when he gets there. Do you let him?

 

I say no, DH says yes. :D Of course DS ran wild as a kid so that isn't any help. The flip side is we weren't allowed out of my parent's sight.

 

How much independence does a d 14 yr old boy need? How does the mom in me let go?

[Perry]

I have a 14 DS and he wants to ride his bike to swim practice. It is 7 miles one way on fairly quiet streets. The 2 major intersections have red lights and cross walks. He will not be riding at night. He has a cell phone and would call when he gets there. Do you let him?

 

I say no, DH says yes. :D Of course DS ran wild as a kid so that isn't any help. The flip side is we weren't allowed out of my parent's sight.

 

How much independence does a d 14 yr old boy need? How does the mom in me let go?

I was riding that far when I was 14. My son (12) rides between 10 and 40 miles/day daily, but with his dad, not alone. I think I'd be okay with it. With a helmet, of course. :D

[Oney Jones]

How does he deal with other responsibility? I would probably let mine do that. (And pray the entire time!)

[Susan in KY]

I'd like to believe that I'd allow it, but then again we're not quite there yet. :001_smile:

[Daisy]

Can you make a deal where you kind of tag-along the first time with the car and then if that goes well, he can start doing it?

 

I say that only as a compromise so that you can see that he can handle the responsibility.

 

I was ready to have my daughter riding her bike around the block and hubby was freaked out. LOL. The above was our compromise. He "stalked" her around the block with the car a few times and then felt confident enough to let her go completely on her own. :D

 

He just needed to see that she could handle crossing the street, etc.

[spradlin02]

I'm hoping by 14 my kids will want to ride 70 miles by themselves.

[hoosiermom]

Dd has recently been biking 15-18 miles round trip just for fun. She's 14, carries a cell phone, and stays off main roads. We live in an extremely rural area, so she's mainly riding on "back" roads (which sometimes concerns me). She's proven herself to be responsible and trustworthy and is close to being a black belt in taekwondo. Before she leaves, she tells me which route she'll be taking. I've decided I need to take a deep breath and learn to let go (a little!).

[SonshineLearner]

With a cell phone, right? And, then going over what to do if someone tries to abduct you...

[Pamela H in Texas]

I think it is more than age-appropriate and safe. I think we all SHOULD be allowing our teens to do these sorts of things.

 

When my kids were 14, we lived somewhere that this would be impossible. I would *want* to say yes, but I'm not absolutely positive I *would* have said yes. I tend to lean on the over protective side though I hate and fight it. So I definitely would be waffling about it and I hope I would have eventually come to allowing it.

 

We are in the middle of town right now (mall a mile away, park 20min walk, lots of shops, etc); and I'd let ds (15) pretty much run here.

[Jean in Newcastle]

14 year old - sure, no problem.

[Nicole M]

I was riding that far when I was 14. My son (12) rides between 10 and 40 miles/day daily, but with his dad, not alone. I think I'd be okay with it. With a helmet, of course. :D

 

Ditto, but my 13yo rides with me, not dad.

 

I'm jealous that the OP has quiet streets. My son has a pottery class that is only about five miles away, and we drive because the roads are so treacherous.

[Spy Car]

14 year old - sure, no problem.

 

:iagree:

 

For goodness sakes, yes!

 

Bill

[fivetails]

7 miles = 11km

 

I wouldn't allow my dd13 to bike that alone... but then, the only 'alone' riding experience she has is within a small, closed court area. We'd bike to the beach sometimes back east, but it was on quiet side streets & a trail, and she was with me.

[newbie]

I am leary about one mile w/my 16 yo.

 

Since SD has high teen abduction rates, I caution on the safe side. A big guy can throw the phone and pull or lure twenty year olds nowadays.

[Renee in NC]

Yes, as long as he had some experience (meaning don't go from around the block to 7 miles away in one day!)

[dansamy]

Well, DH plans to allow them their motorcycle licenses at 14 so they can go to youth functions and Boy Scout meetings on a small motor driven cycle. I, of course, am terrified and horrified, but he insists that they need to learn their independence.

[Murphy101]

How wide are the roads? My only major concern would be traffic. Do people normally bike those roads fairly safely?

 

I wish I could let our boys do that but ANY biker on our roads is taking their life in their hands. There's no shoulder and many of the roads are narrow. Big SUV going down the same road has to cross the center line to avoid hitting bikers.

 

Personally I think it should be standard that for every street made there's a bike lane and a sidewalk.

 

I walked way, way farther than that at that age.

[dansamy]

I wish we had bike lanes here. Here, bikes are considered moving vehicles and are allowd the same right of way on the road as a motor driven cycle or passenger vehicle. There are also rules of the road when encountering agricultural equipment on the road. Just becausea bikerider is supposed to follow the same rules andbe allowed the same rights of way doesn't mean that drivers actually do give them their right of way. Most people do only move partway into the next lane to pass a bike or even a motorcycle.

[Tap]

If the area has bike lanes and he knows how to ride safely, then I would consider it. I would have to have a pretty specific reason to say no, not just a 'because...may happen'.

 

I would also want to know if there was someone who typically had an SUV or truck who could pick him up if something came up...storm, family emergency, etc.

[Lolly]

Definitely.

[Tohru]

My only thought would be the ride home....wouldn't he be exhausted? Unless he's used to that much physical exertion.

[Hyzenthlay in Pa.]

My older kids did this at 14. They also got pulled over for speeding!:lol:Several times!

[Jane in NC]

Yes--my son rode similar distances at age 13 or 14. Like the others, I assume he knows the rules of the road and wears his helmet.

 

Jane

[Lucy in Australia]

You've just described the situation in my household :) I wasn't happy, Dad said "Of course he can". So he did, and it was fine :D It does depend on how responsible they are, though. My younger son will be about 32 before he's allowed to do that ;)

[dansamy]

You've just described the situation in my household :) I wasn't happy, Dad said "Of course he can". So he did, and it was fine :D It does depend on how responsible they are, though. My younger son will be about 32 before he's allowed to do that ;)

 

You got one of those too I see? :D My youngest is....OMG. Way, way different than my eldest. I'm sure my youngest is gonna be 15 before I don't have to check behind his ears and remind him to actually use a towel to dry his hair. Certain things are just not on his radar. At all. Very kinetic, on-the-go personality. And I'm a laid-back, laissez-faire, lackadaisical sort. I totally do NOT know what to do with him.

[ciyates]

We followed him in the car and he did fine. He is a pretty decent size kid and works out a lot. I knew the distance would not be the problem (even with the hills and boy does Cincinnati have them). He was so excited! I am willing to compromise and let him ride to practice but I will still pick him up. He could easily make it home after swim practice but they usually have 3 hours practice and it is getting dark. We will see how it goes. I didn't realize how much he needs this independence. I don't totally understand it but will go along with it for now.

 

After all we have went through with his hand this year he needs something good.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Sounds like a good compromise.

[Spy Car]

7 miles = 11km

 

 

Or, as we like to say: 110,000 Orange Rods :D

 

Bill (royal we :tongue_smilie:)

[Spy Car]

Sounds like a good compromise.

 

Except it doesn't reduce automobile use AT ALL, because one still makes the same number of trips, AND it cuts the workout coming home. If a kid wants to get into great shape, why (not you Jean :D) not let him?

 

Bill

Edited May 26, 2010 by Spy Car

[Laura Corin]

I'd let him do that. Calvin is allowed to cycle as far as he wants so long as it doesn't take him onto main roads - the main roads around here are narrow and fast - not a good combination. For that matter, Hobbes is allowed to cycle as far as he wants on our quiet village roads.

 

Laura

Edited May 26, 2010 by Laura Corin

[Peela]

I say yes. My 14yos suddenly wants to do rides like that too and he has such a strong desire for freedom and independence, I dont want to hold him back out of fear or overprotectiveness. We have even bought lights for both our kids' bikes and a couple of times they have ridden locally, together, in the daylight, and ridden home in the dark (on footpaths). They feel very grown up!

For me, both my kids have gone through huge maturity hikes at around age 14 and they both craved a lot more freedom. Also, intense physical exercise is good for them. If they get exhausted, they sleep. Its healthy.

[Jennifer in MI]

We let our dss ride their bikes to work (one is on the field crew of Little League) and to karate (even the 9 yo - but only when he's with his brothers). The oldest has been doing this for a few years. They love this independence!!

 

And, I found by allowing it, they are starting to do more around the house more willingly. I don't know if the two go hand in hand or not, but it's been nice!!

 

If it's dark, I do go pick oldest up. Our neighborhood is perfectly safe, but he can be hard to see at night!!

[ciyates]

Except it doesn't reduce automobile use AT ALL, because one still makes the same number of trips, AND it cuts the workout coming home. If a kid wants to get into great shape, why (not you Jean :D) not let him?

 

Bill

 

The point of him riding was for him to experience some independence not to cut gas or add to his workout. I pick him up because it is dark and there are no street lights. I could buy him a light for his bike but 1) the area is full of curves and hills and people don't general ride bikes in this area so I am a little more concerned for his safety at night and 2) I am a mom who has to ease into this. We will see where he is in a few months and that may change. :D

[katemary63]

14 year old - sure, no problem.

 

:iagree: