Child plays at park while parent works....

[maconmagnolia]

I agree with what Kevin said upthread. This shouldn't be an issue. By age eight I was riding my bike around town, going to the pool with my friends without supervision (there would be lifeguards obviously, and I was on the local swim team so my parents knew I could swim very well), going to the park with just my friends and no adults. My friends parents were the same way with letting them ride their bikes around town and go to the park without adults. We were never in any danger. I wasn't allowed to sit in front of the TV all day - I went out with my friends and played all day and came back home before dinner time. This was in 1999-2001 ish. Granted, I am from a small town but I do think that a lot of the things we are constantly worried about simply aren't things worth worrying about. Let kids be kids.