We live in the middle of nowhere IN and I pretty much let my children roam the same way I did growing up. We live too far away from everything for them to go far, but they do walk down to the park/baseball field about 1/4 mile from the house and frequently traverse between our property and the neighbors' house sitting a bit behind ours. The back corner of ours touches the back corner of theirs and we keep a 4-wheeler trail mowed between houses just to make the walk/ride a bit easier. There are definite ground rules they have to follow, like no 4-wheelers, trampoline, zip line, playing in the front yard, or leaving the property without a parent at home. Also no playing in the creek solo. I realize there is always going to be a risk that something could happen, but I figure it's so tiny that I'm willing to let them be independent. I bought a house in a rural town (vs middle of nowhere) this summer and my kids walk all over the place, however, they are all older (10-13). I'm far more worried about them finding trouble themselves vs trouble finding them there. I feel like there are far more eyes around and lots of kids out playing.
