Neighborhood Kids Coming over to Play

You are absolutely not being too protective. I would set rules, stick to them, be consistent and give lots of praise. Tell your daughter "Safety first, you are never allowed in the street without holding mom or dads hand." when our daughter was 2 I stepped on a bug on the sidewalk and told her if she went in the street she could be squashed like a bug. Funny now all these years later all my friends say it and the kids joke about it but it kept them safe. The boys are certainly not getting good supervision at home or they wouldn't be out riding their bikes in the street late in the evening. they may be coming to you for the parenting and attention they don't get at ho9me. Kids thrive on discipline, they think adults that give them boundaries care enough to keep them safe. Start giving them positive and encouraging words and tell them you care about them too and want them to be safe, please don't ride your bikes in the street especially after dusk. If you tell the boys you are happy to have them over for 30 minutes but only before a certain time and when they knock you may not always have time but you are glad they stopped by. your husband is right, she does need to learn form her mistakes but she is not old enough to know how to keep herself safe, it's up to you. Also, when she gets older and your gut tells you not to let her go to the park with the boys and your DH tells you she has to learn from her mistakes...think twice before letting her go! Say yes often, kiss and hug her often and set limits for her and her friends...you're doing a great job so far.

I think with supervision it is ok but the hours they come are not.

7:30-8:30 is a little late for them to be coming over, at least for my house. I would set limits on the time and supervise my child. Our 14 yr old has limits on how late she is out and about in the neighborhood with friends.

I wouldn't be SO overprotective that she ends up scared of everything in the world. You have to balance that and of course be protective at the same time.

Best wishes. They grow up TOO fast.

I have a 5 yr old girl and there is no way that I would allow her to play with boys that age specially at night. They could meet at a playground or something that is more public rather than your front yard. If those are the only children and option for neighborhood friends than you will need to meet the parents and sit outside while she plays so you can watch the boys behavior. All it takes is one time for something to go wrong. My daughter is shy at first but after she see and talks to the same people she trusts them. She knows the rules about our yard, but I would think with older boys (that don't seem to have as strict of rules) might do something that would cause the younger ones to follow and or try. Resulting in a harmful mistake.

Been there, done this one!
Tell the boys that she can't have company after your families' dinner time. My experience is they won't come if they can't come late.
God Bless.

I would tell the boys that she's too little.

I don't feel you are being over protective at all. As long as she had adult supervision I'd be okay with her playing with the older boys, if they were good boys... If I was you, I'd go introduce myself to the boy's parents. You might feel better with your daughter playing with them. I would also tell them that you don't mind their boys playing with your daughter, but you feel whatever time you think is late enough for them to be coming over. That way the parents will know that 7:30 PM is too late to be bothering the neighbors on a school night, let the parents know your daughter is only 4 years old too. I think you'll feel much better about everything after you talk with the parents.

I am a proud overly protective mom of a sweet little girl. One of the women in my circle thinks I am too strict. Then I watch her kids and I don't want mine to be that way.

I agree with Denise. Supervised visitation is great. Just keep a watchful eye on your daughter. Boys, especially in groups, can be up to things they shouldn't and your little girl doesn't have the knowledge to understand and protect herself. I would also suggest you meet the parents. You need to know what lessons they are learning at home and this comes directly from the parents.

We can nurture other kids, but protecting our own is the most important!

my kid is noe 6 but he start playing outside with neighbors kids about 4 but he cannot go out alone always i need to go out too or his father to watch him and he need to go home at 8