I think yours was a good compromise. In a situation like that, I'd be particularly worried about child predators - and kids that age don't always react effectively or quickly in emergencies. I certainly wouldn't let kids that age be alone. What happens if one who is alone has an accident/is snatched by a paedophile? Who will fetch you or raise the alarm?

I'm the wrong one to chime in as I'm right there with you - I have a heard time letting go of the 'leash' on SD13. I'm really curious to hear what others have to say . . . .

I think it depends on the maturity, not the age of the child.

Even so, I wouldn't want my daughter wandering around a water park in her swimsuit. It's sad, but pedophiles like to hang out where kids do and I'd rather be safe than sorry, so I guess that is a little on the overprotective side.

However, on the other hand, I think kids that age do need to develop some independence too.

I have a 15 year old SD and still to this day I am not comfortable letting her "wander around" alone. BM on the other hand has no problems dropping her off at a rock concert with no adult supervision in a major us city. I have learned to utilize our cell phones. If she is going somewhere that I am not comfortable with (an amusement park with friends, etc) I make her call me at certain intervals. I have also learned I can't control how other parents supervise their children, and mine when she is with them. I found out when she was 13 and we allowed her to go to Hershey Park with parents that we trusted that she and the other girl were allowed to wander at their will. I was not happy but I can't control what the other parents do. However, I can somewhat control checking on her while she is not with me and DH and I have been known to "check in" frequently with her if she is somewhere that we are not, especially when she had visitation with BM and we knew she would be going to a concert, or to another city to the beach or whatever. She knows she has to answer that cell phone............there are WAY too many wierdo's out that that prey on kids.

A__ is 9 and we live in a medium sized city in Canada.
He is allowed to walk to the drugstore (about 2 blocks away, but no streets to cross) on his own. Last summer he was not allowed to walk to Tim Horton's on his own, even though it's in the same shopping centre as the drugstore, because he would have to go through the busy parking lot. He also wasn't allowed to go to 7-11 on his own, because he'd have to cross the relatively busy street. This summer he will be allowed to go to 7-11 and Tim Horton's on his own because he's showing much better awareness of traffic.
When we go to hockey games (usually ~4000 people at the arena) he is allowed to go to the bathroom by himself or to the concession, but he has to come right back. He sometimes asks to go for a wander during intermission, and we say "Yes, but watch the scoreboard and be back by ____ time". If he is late, he loses going off by himself for the rest of the game.
At his grandma's, he and his 10 year old cousin who lives across the street are allowed to go off for as long as they want, provided they don't leave the street. It's a large crescent, and they can be well out of sight of the house, but they aren't allowed out onto the main road. Grandma would probably let them, but BM asked for that restriction. If they want to go to the park (across the main road) they have to ask, and be back at a certain time (the cousin has a watch).

When I was 13, I was allowed to go off all afternoon with my friends, to bike by the river, to go to the mall, whatever really. I went to a few hockey games without my parents (but with a friend) when I was 12, which is also when I started going to evening movies with friends but no parents. I went to my first concert without my parents when I was 14 (a friend and I decided we wanted to see Sammy Kershaw) but we had to call when he went offstage, so that Mom could drive to the arena while he was doing the encore and we had prearranged pickup doors. But I was pretty reliable and responsible, so my mom could trust what I was up to.

Well my 13 yr old sd is pretty mature and would not talk to strangers or get into a car with them or anything. She is very aware of traffic and looking before crossing the street.

My 11 yr old sd is not so mature. She does not seem to have that fear of strangers and constantly needs to be reminded of stranger danger. Just last summer we were at a public pool with friends and all my kids were within eye sight of me (small pool). Anyways I was watching the youngest and when I looked at sd after a few minutes my 11 yr old sd was talking to some older man and showing him how she can swim. I thought my dh was going to kill her!

My 9 yr old son is very stranger danger orientated. But, he is also not the most cautious kid. I could see him hurrying across the street first and looking later!

So this is why I am so protective over the 11 and 9 yr olds. My dh keeps saying I baby them too much and need to give them independance though. How do I do this without having a heart attack though? And how do I give them freedom when I am afraid something will happen to them? I still make the 9 yr old and 5 yr old boys go into the womans bathroom with me in crowded places! (OF course they get their own stalls.) I have just heard so many awful stories about pediphiles and accidents it worries me. How do you get past all that?