"Parents reported a wide range of acceptable ages for unsupervised activity -- from 2 to 15 years to safely bathe without a parent in the room, from 3 to 16 years to safely cross a busy street without holding an adult's hand, and from 6 to 21 years to bicycle unsupervised on a busy street. "

"In some cases parents listed ages "well below what experts agree are safe ages for children to be free from supervision," Dr. Carolyn DiGuiseppi, of the University of Colorado, Denver, told Reuters Health."

"DiGuiseppi and colleagues' analysis of telephone survey results from 945 Colorado households containing children aged from 1 to 14 years old found that, on average, parents believe children aged 61/2 years old can bathe without a parent in the room, 9 year olds are mature enough to cross busy streets without holding an adult's hand, and 12 year olds should be able to bicycle unsupervised on busy streets, DiGuiseppi said."

"But their analysis, published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, also found that parents permitting risky behaviors, such as allowing their child to ride in a speeding vehicle or in a car operated by an impaired driver, were more likely to permit younger aged children to engage in unsupervised bathing, street crossing, and bicycle riding. Additionally, households containing a risky drinker were more likely
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