When is your child ready for more independence?
*Pay attention to maturity level, not chronological age, advises Jonathan Pochyly, a child and adolescent psychologist at Children’s Memorial Hospital. “Is your child impulsive? Good at problem-solving? Do they follow rules or want to do things their way?”
*Take baby steps. You can test your child’s readiness in a controlled environment. “If you are in the supermarket and you say they can go look at magazines, are they there?” Pochyly said.
*Be open, not obsessed. Everyone is less anxious when they are prepared, like having a fire escape plan, said Dr. Sharon Hirsch, a University of Chicago psychiatrist. “Talk about things … but not excessively. Parents are still the most important people in their children’s lives.”
*Have a secret code. In a recent Elmwood Park case, police said the perpetrator tried to lure a 12-year-old by saying he was sent by the child’s mom to pick him up. “A child could ask … ‘What’s the password?'” Hirsch said.
— Bonnie Miller Rubin
