Well, I think it's too young but I am over protective, I'm told, by a 15 year old with a black belt. And he wants to go on his band trip to FL this summer!! Guess I'll let him but I will worry.

I also saw the segment this morning and had the same reaction as you! I think the sense of "security" being in a small town is starting to come to an end. We are all learning with events around the country "that it can happen anywhere" and at any time.

Every child is different, and parents have to make those decisions. Would I have allowed my son...NO

I missed that segment, so I don't know the complete context of the story, but my thoughts...

As a child living in the NY suburbs in the 1970s, I walked a mile to school beginning in kindergarten. My Mom admits now that she'd never let us make that walk if she was making the decision today. It entailed walking through a residential neighborhood, through a park, over train tracks, through an industrial park and through a wooks. But she couldn't even be certain that we were walking that way, because--particularly on the way home--we often made detours or took other routes that allowed us to walk with our friends.

We'd often go into Manhattan on day trips, and my Mom always pinned a piece of paper to us containing my Dad's Manhattan office number, and with a dime taped to it for the cost of the call. She wasn't expecting us to get lost, but she wanted to prepare us for the situation where we might have gotten lost.

And that's the key to this family's story. Yes, the big city can be a scary and dangerous place for a kid, but isn't it every parent's responsibility to arm their child with the tools they need in case they unexpectedly get caught on their own in the city? If I were Lenore Skenazy, I would have also armed Izzy with a cell phone, and I would have followed him from about 20 paces behind. But I'd want to know that my child possessed the skills and knowledge to help him get home alone in the event of an emergency.

Hi, I am 22 and live in a small town in Indiana. You know I may still be a " young pup " like some people tell me, and I don't have any children yet. But, that is one thing I would never do. I have a 7 year old cousin and I just can't imagine putting him on a bus alone. You never know what could happen. I don't care if you are living in a small town, the city of the middle of no mans land, you are not safe. You can't trust people anymore. Bad things happen no matter how safe you think you are. I know. I've been there. I am sure there are lots of people out there that can relate to that. It's sad, but it's the truth.

Just because a kid wants to do something, you don't give in and let him/her. That's why we're here...to parent our children, not to let them do whatever they want to do. I also noticed that the child doesn't do the things the doctor (or whatever she was) said would be a good indication of maturity, like picking up your clothes, etc. I guess I'd tell the child that when you can demonstrate responsibility in other areas that aren't fun, then we'll talk about the fun adventures. It's easy to have fun and not so easy to work. Hmmm....

WOW, I did not see that portion of show today, wish i had.
That would never happen with my family, although my kids are all grown, I know that they would not let this happen either. A nine year old would not have the maturity to handle a situation if it arose, also he's Nine, a teen. Oh well, things and life does change and goes on.

I saw this segment today and certainly knew who ran the household. Giving in to his "houndings" not only set a precident but exposed him to all sorts of dangers. Now that he has received so much publicity, he will certainly try to get away with more. I am fairly familiar with NYC and would not ride the subway alone.
Your blogs are certainly enjoyable.

Let me say this, that there is no more small town America anymore. Yeah we like to think there is, but lets get realistic here....it's gone. You are not safe no matter where you are.

You can try to prepare your children for just about anything that could happen, but you can not prepare them for everything. Some times I think they need to experience life for themselves. Not that I am saying 9 is the age to start but....

I live in New York and take the subway and bus and rarely see children as young as 9 riding by themselves. I think it's too young.

I agree there are dangers living in the suburbs too, but i think you have to be more aware and react faster when you're in the city with traffic, trains, etc.

I thought it was interesting when the psychiaitrist said that kids can find independence other ways too like getting themselves up in the morning, throwing their clothes in the hamper and making their lunches. The mom and kid both acknowledged he didn't do any of those things yet.

I saw the segment and personally found nothing wrong with letting Izzy travel by himself. He seems to be very sure of himself and mature for his age.

One of the advantages of living in NYC (I live in MIA) is having fantastic mass transit. I spent two weeks on business a few years ago in NYC and loved being able to hop on/off the trains from downtown and end up in Midtown to see a show or go uptown shopping. I was back again last summer and can not believe how safe NY has become. Much safer than 15+ yrs ago.

I think we baby our kids to much these days. Some kids much older than Izzy don't know how to use money; buy movie tickets, get the correct change etc. GOOD FOR YOU IZZY!

I watched this segment on line today, and I am a school teacher in an inner city school in Utah. Now I know my "inner city" doesn't compare to many other places. However, I grew up in the suburbs here, and after coming to teach school at the age of 23, my eyes have been opened like I could never imagine.

I can't say what I would or wouldn't do as a parent, but I can say that I've come to find that children are doing more than I think many of their parents know. For him, it probably wasn't that scary of an experience, because what kids deal with on a daily basis at school and in life can be much scarier than finding his way home on the subway.

Just a thought...

I'm 13 and I live in the suburbs of Detroit. I consider my neighborhood fairly safe. I'm a regular walker throughout my neighborhood. I would never be allowed to go into a city like New York alone. My parents are fairly protective of where me and my siblings go even though we are in the suburbs. My mom even bought us walkie talkies. I watch a lot of news reports and I would never want my parents to leave me in a big city by myself. Unfortunately today you cannot trust people. My sister is a year younger than I, and whenever we go places like amusment parks or malls we always have to stay together. By the way I love your blog, and I'm glad you stopping blogging was an April Fools joke.

I just turend 18 and the summer that I had turned 10, I spent the summer with my Aunt and Uncle and cousins in New york City. My Cousin and I walked all over the place together, took buses, etc. My cousin and I are only a week diffrence in age so it's not like we were with any adults and we are still here to tell the tale.We said where we headed and we called if plans changed and it was all fine.
I think that as long as kids know what to do if approached my someone they don't know or if something happends, that it's not a big deal. I don't think I would let my 9 year old child do it all by themselves, but then again if i thought he/she had a level head, and could be trusted I am sure It would be fine.
For all you people who are saying it's to dangerous you just have to remember that next time your child rides the school bus after all it has no seat belts and kids almost never sit right in the seats. What if's will drive you, there is danger everywhere, but you can't stop living and growing!

When I saw this segment this morning, I had the same reaction as you. I am 22 years old and from a small town but know that one must always be on awares and live in the "real" world. Bad things happen everyday to people, with children being particularly vulnerable. I think it is irresponsible for a parent to turn a young child loose on a subway.

Parents are parents for a reason....they should put their foot down and say "NO" to crazy tactics such as this regardless of their child's wishes. After all, the boy is only 9 years old!! I know I felt invincible at that age as I was naive and had not been exposed to any of the cruelties in life. Thank goodness for my parents who gave me room to grow but at the same time ensured my safety.

When I saw this segment this morning, I had the same reaction as you. I am 22 years old and from a small town but know that one must always be on awares and live in the "real" world. Bad things happen everyday to people, with children being particularly vulnerable. I think it is irresponsible for a parent to turn a young child loose on a subway.

Parents are parents for a reason....they should put their foot down and say "NO" to crazy tactics such as this regardless of their child's wishes. After all, the boy is only 9 years old!! I know I felt invincible at that age as I was naive and had not been exposed to any of the cruelties in life. Thank goodness for my parents who gave me room to grow but at the same time ensured my safety.

I love letting my children assert their independedence. However, I think this is going too far. I live in a very rural area and I had a pedophile pull all the way in my driveway when my child was outside playing - not 20 feet from the door! Fortunately he was too afraid of my dog to get out of his car. I called the police and therefore was notified as a possible witness every time he was successful in molesting a child. Anyhow my point is - the world is full of crazy people prowling around looking for kids like this cute kid. I hope she continues to let her son assert his independence, just stay close!

Yeah, I've got to say, I think 9 is too young to ride the subway alone. That said, I started baby-sitting my brother and sister at age 10 -- granted we lived in a small town where we knew literally everyone and my parents were never more than a 10 minutes drive away -- but some would say that is too young to stay home alone with a 7 and 3-year-old. So who knows!

NEVER EVER! I have a 9 and a almost 7 year old....and I would NEVER allow this. My kids are too young and need to be protected by my husband and I. There are way toooooooooo many crazy people in this world and if we're not protecting our kids, who will?

I didn't get to see the story but I think it depends on the child & where you live. The issue isn't independence or being over-protective but rather it's teaching them how to be wise and street smart in whatever area you live in, whether it's a small town, suburb, or big city.

When I was 7, my mom had to go back to working full time so she had to show my sister & how to take the bus to school. She followed the bus to & from school for a week, just to be sure we knew how to get to places. My parents taught us how to be aware of people around us, which routes to walk and which to avoid, & what to do if we felt uncomfortable. We always had bus fare and money for the pay phone with us. (I grew up before cell phones). Along the route to bus stops we were shown places to go to if we needed help. Rather than shelter us from any possible harm, they prepared us to handle ourselves if that harm found us.

I dont have children so I can't say whether this mom was right or wrong. She knows her son and I doubt any mother would put her child in danger just to give into whining. When I finally have kids one day I want them to be equipped to handle the world we live in. There are a lot of scary people and situations out there and I want my kids to know how to navigate those situations wisely.

You don't help your kids by sheltering them from everything. Don't be reckless but bury your head in the sand either.

Meredith, Your piece today on Missing Money was interesting. But I would like for your viewers to know that the reason alot of the money stays there is because the states which handle the money have a very hard time letting go of it. I have been trying for over one year to claim money that was my grandmothers and me and my sister are her only heirs. Kentucky keeps telling us that they do not have all the information they need to process this claim. However We have more than given them every ounce of information validating our right to claim this money. Thanks for listening. Robin Dodson

I grew up in the country and we would ride bikes 4 miles to school in the morning and afternoon (I was older being the oldest child and a girl) but I wouldn't DREAM of doing that in this day and age in the city - even letting them go 4 blocks would be a big stretch for me. We didn't have cell phones back then or even 2 way radios like they have now. Growing up - we never locked our doors - parent's still don't all the time. Cars are left with their keys in them over night. You can't do that anymore - even in the country but yes - there is a sense of security in the country. One I wish we could get back to in the city!!!

I think the 9 year old was to young to be alone. Do what you did but be along as a silent observer for the kid. Knowing me - I would set up "road blocks" along the way to see what he might do when a strange person approached him or he needed to do something out of the norm. He could feel SO good about himself as he walks through the steps but yet - has the safety of a parent with.

A 9 year old taking a NY subway is way too young. I believe children need to be street smart, but your pushing it with a child so young. Also, their must've been a camera man filming him taking the subway, so maybe he wasn't all alone after all.

This is a topic my husband and I discuss frequently (we have two kids, 7 and 9 years old). He and I grew up in the 70's and 80's in rural Michigan. When we were our kids' ages, we were staying home alone, spending entire days at the beach with just our friends, riding dirtbikes through the orchards and down paved roads without adult supervision--or a helmet.

Would we allow any of this now? Absolutely not. We now live in a fairly quiet part of Scottsdale, and I wouldn't let the kids walk the quarter mile to the grocery store without an adult. The boy doesn't have the required common sense, and the girl... well, she's tall, pretty, 9 going on 17... you know where I'm going. As for letting a kid loose in Manhattan... I would probably buy those child leashes if we took the kids there!

Oh Goodness. Small towns are a hot bed of nasty behavior. There is nothing better about people who live in small towns than people who live in the city (in my opinion.) I think the difference is there are more people in Manhattan so you run more of a chance of bumping into a predator.

I live in Indiana and you don't even want to know how many sexual predators there are preying mostly on family members or other easily accessed victims. Many people would assume that kids are safer in Indiana than Manhattan. I don't agree. Kids can be safe or they can be at risk pretty much anywhere. So, I think parents and other responsible adults need to keep an eye out for the safety of children everywhere.

I don't have kids so I can't judge this particular situation. At some point you have to let a child feel free and independent. You can't keep a child tethered to you until he or she is older then expect the child to grow into a functional adult.

So, although I have quite a cynical view of the world and I may not have done the same thing Lenore Skenazy did, I understand why she let her son have this adventure.

I beleive that 9 yrs old is to young to be roaming in New York but of coarse I am from a small town in Western North Carolina. The fact that the young man has grown up in New York is a different story. He is probably very much aware of the dangers that lurk in New York. I am sure he was armed with a cellphone programed with all the emergency numbers he would need. As we have learned in recent history, the kids these days are growing up at a younger age.

As parents it is very difficult to let our children "go"; especially when you have a history. We are very protective of our children (15, 13 & 7), actually, OVER protective. However, we've learned that we needed to be able to let the older two "go & grow". I realized this after noticing that my girls couldn't figure things out on their own. I'm happy that we figured it out early. They are street smart and happier. OH! yes, we did get them cell phones! that was a given :D

I think we baby our kids too much, Izzy was armed with a cell phone and money.We need to trust our kids a little more,BRAVO to Izzy and his mother. She is raising an independant and competant young man ... Isn't that what we are supposed to do?

So, a parent uses her judgement, sets her kid up so he can hardly fail (transit pass, map, phone money, taxi fare), and it is somehow controversial? I say, bravo to caring moms who can set their children up come home "ecstatic with independence."

A big thumbs down to the "parenting expert" in the interview, who comes across as a complete twit.