Holding an adult's hand

ppants

My kids still do it without question or complaints while crossing the street, in parking lots, etc.  What age do you stop or do they stop?  Dumb question, but I'm curious.

penguingrrl

For us it's incredibly situation dependent. My 5 year old automatically holds hands, but if my hands are full I'm okay with her not. She knows to watch for cars and understands the rules.

But it also depends on where we are. The tiny parking lot for her sister's preschool? She doesn't need to hold my hand. A huge mall parking lot with god knows who is driving? She needs to hold me or my bag or arm or whatever. When the baby comes I'll be retraining both kids to hold the stroller (we haven't regularly brought a stroller with us  in a good year now, so they're out of the habit) since my hands won't be free.

jlw2505

Totally depends on where we are.  My kids are 4 1/2 (5 in March) and 6 1/2.  IN the mornings when I drop them off at school, we are there for before care and there is next to no traffic in the parking lot (just a handful of other parents at that time) so they can walk without holding my hand.  When we leave school, the parking lot is a mess so the girls hold hands and I hold one of them so we form a train sort of.  In other situations, they just need to be right next to me.  I still typically hold my 4 1/2 year olds hand the majority of the time but not my 6 1/2 year old.  I totally trust both of them to stay right next me but I do base it on the situation.  My DH is stricker with this one and still wants both to hold his hand all the time.

neverblushed

Both of my kids were probably about 6 or 7.  I think it depends on the situation and the kid's ability to stick with you and pay attention to pedestrian and vehicle traffic patterns.

There are still some situations (downtown Washington, DC for instance) where I'll hold my 8 y/o's hand to cross a very busy intersection, or whatever. 

jnksmom

My kids are 4 and 5.5 and most of the time they hold my hands, arm, or purse(if my hands are full). There are times when they just walk  beside me and I am okay with that in non-busy areas/parking lots.  I think it is such a habit for them that they hold my hand without really thinking about it.

Jelliebean1982

Most kids phase it out around 2nd grade. I see a lot of 1st graders wanting to hold hands, less of it in 2nd, and no one in the 3rd on up will hold an adult's hand. I am basing this purely on what I see as a teacher when we walk our kids to their cars at pick up time.

ppants

Thanks for all the replies.

ppants

Jelliebean1982:

Most kids phase it out around 2nd grade. I see a lot of 1st graders wanting to hold hands, less of it in 2nd, and no one in the 3rd on up will hold an adult's hand. I am basing this purely on what I see as a teacher when we walk our kids to their cars at pick up time.

This is what I figured, and it's good to hear from a teacher's prospective.  I don't want to scar them, but honestly, I will be sad when they quit. 

shopgirl78

Since I have 3 kids and 2 hands, usually, I am for sure holding my 2 year old.   If its busy, I hold my 5 year olds hand and have him hold his sisters or the cart  or something attached to us.  If its no busy, I only hold the baby's hand.  The amount of people/ busyness is all gauged in my head....

My 7 year doesn't usually put up a fight, more than likely its the 5 year old.   

LoriLee14

I still reach out for my mom or husbands hand when crossing a busy street or parking lot. Just habit now (i'm 27)

MOMofGnGn+1

I dunno, I don't feel like my boys HAVE to hold my hand for safety anymore really but I still love holding their hands and being close to them. I'll stop when they want me to, but they still like to as well. They are 7 and 5.

heather51983

My dd will be 11 in March and when its super crowded somewhere like the mall or walking in downtown Seattle she holds my hand other then that its just whenever she feels like. 

J&A2008

I will still sometimes ask my middle son (third grade) to hold my hand if the parking lot is busy, it's rainy or dark.

He cannot be seen behind many cars, as he is short. 

Usually he does not take my hand, but I do sometimes ask him to.  I like having LO, as it's an excuse to have him take LO's other hand.  So, he's not being the little kid, he's "helping" me by taking LO's other hand.