Is four too young for a child to go for a walk by itself? 

For many parents, the question of when a child is ready to do anything by themselves is one they grapple with for years.

On The Hard Shoulder, Dr Clare Moriarty of Trinity College explained why she recently allowed her child to go for a wander by herself. 

“She has a small little red rubber amputee dinosaur called Shiney, who is the closest thing on earth,” she said. 

“Shiney is, she tells us, a ‘nectar raptor’ - which means he feeds on flowers. 

“So, they were once content to hunt for Shiney’s sustenance in our garden but the other day she asked me, ‘Can I take a walk just me and Shiney on our own and get some food?’ 

“So, I sort of said yes with the caveat that we live in an estate.” 

While there are cars in their neighbourhood, Dr Moriarty described her daughter as very aware of traffic.  

“The caveat was she can’t go beyond the terrace of houses we live on,” she added. 

“She can’t go into the road, she knows not to do that anyway.

“She can’t go up the lane behind the house, she has to stay on that block where she would be in principle visible from the end of the garden.

“Then I kind of hover around the door and try not to run down every few seconds.” 

Children walking to school. Picture by: Annette Riedl/dpa.

 Dr Moriarty said she could continue to hear her daughter having nature chats with her daughter while she sat out on the step to knit and listen to her. 

“Her brother shows no signs of being afforded the same privileges,” she said. 

“He’s been trying to jump into UCD lake since he was born.”

Main image: Children walking to school. Picture by: Chris Baker 22 / Stockimo / Alamy.com.