# freedom for 9 year old



## Scott (Jun 19, 2008)

What sorts of freedoms / privileges would a 9 year old have, especially a responsible one? I am thinking of the kinds of freedoms a child gains after proving himself responsible. Thanks


----------



## BJClark (Jun 19, 2008)

Scott;



> What sorts of freedoms / privileges would a 9 year old have, especially a responsible one? I am thinking of the kinds of freedoms a child gains after proving himself responsible. Thanks



I don't know, when my kids were that age they wanted to go to the skating rink with a group of friends, so I'd let them go for 2 hours, like from 6 to 8 on a Thursday Night (they had various church groups that went that night). Or on a Saturday for a couple hours during the day.

They were able to stay the night with friends or have friends stay the night here on a Friday or Saturday Night. (there friends went to church, so they went w/ them or their friends went with us).

What type of freedoms are you or considering?


----------



## Scott (Jun 20, 2008)

I was thinking of the sorts of freedoms you grant a child as he grows, especially things around the house. You let a 9 year old do more than a 5 year. What sorts of things are appropriate for a 9 year old?


----------



## BJClark (Jun 20, 2008)

Scott;



> I was thinking of the sorts of freedoms you grant a child as he grows, especially things around the house. You let a 9 year old do more than a 5 year. What sorts of things are appropriate for a 9 year old?



freedoms or chores? Two different things..

Chores/responsibilities around the house for a 9 year old, could be cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, helping wash dishes. My kids have been doing all of those things for quite some time..

When they hit 6th/7th grade they started doing their own laundry, but I was teaching them to separate them before then.

freedom would be if they went to bed at say 8:00 before they could stay up till 8:30, or say 30 minutes extra playing a video game or time spent on the computer, or finishing a chapter of a good book.


----------



## jwithnell (Jun 20, 2008)

Do you mean what they should be able to do in their free time around the house? Part of it would depend on what they were permitted to do before -- generally it works best to let a child's freedoms expand in increments -- as he show's he is responsible, give him some more latitude. 

When it comes to movies, videos, TV (a mute point for us since we get 1.5 stations without cable) I have a friend who lets her kids start each week with a set amount of "tube time" that they could earn more of, or lose, depending on their contributions or behavior. I wish I had the system with my older kids and will use a variation on it when my little guys are older. 

Computers are a separate issue -- even into their mid teens, they should be supervised on the computer, and even then, be a little less nosy only with a child who is showing great responsibility and maturity. Even then, they should be accounting for how they are using their time.


----------

