Should young girls be allowed to run alone?

I'm a parent and a coach of teenage girls. I never let them run alone.

No freakin' way do you let her run alone. She can run at a VERY populated place that is always within eyesight of everyone or at a VERY populated track or inside at a fitness center or on a treadmill at home, but NEVER let her run alone on city streets or at a park with trails that go out of sight...never ever ever...not even once. Foolish. Stories all over the place of women runners who are tackled and assaulted or killed; from city streets, from parks. Sorry, but the average man can still easily overpower even a fit woman.

My daughter is 13 and is a runner, and no way would I let her run alone...not through high school, and while my authority diminishes after she's 18, I will plead with her never to run alone as an adult. Sad but true, but women have less freedom than men.

It depends on where you live, where she runs, when she runs, and a bunch of other things.

Sure, there are occasional stories in the news about girls getting into trouble running alone. On the other hand, I know many, many young women who run alone regularly and have never had a problem. I think that you need to try to be safe, part of which is running in public areas, during the day, being aware, etc. However, I think beyond that, you need to not be paranoid.

I see news stories every day about a local car crash killing somebody. Should people be allowed to drive? You get the point.

just let her run, baby!

At first I was all for talking with my mom to let her run alone but just yesterday I read an article in the new running times about a 15yr old girl who was found dead after going for a run in San Diego. The article goes on to say incidents like this are scary but rare. I don't know how to feel about this because I would be a mess if something happened to her but she can't be locked up her whole life. Honestly I feel safer about her running alone than my wife who is 10 yrs older. At least my sister is fast and I don't really think of my wife as being any less of a target. Aren't the chances of her getting in a car wreck greater? Then again a car wreck doesn't involve rape or other horrifying acts that would go along with being abducted.

Women deal with the threat of abduction and rape on a daily basis. It can happen anywhere, anytime. Your sister should be allowed to live an active, independent life within reasonable bounds of safety. Running on most roads and well-traveled trails falls within that realm, in my opinion. Granted, I'm female and have had to face my fears- some founded, some not- and live life in order to know what constitutes a realistic safety risk. I've been attacked twice in the past by complete strangers. I still run alone on a daily basis. Life goes on.

this is a classic - people drive around in cars all day with their teen girls, even talking on the phone at the same time, but letting them run by themselves is too dangerous?

You've got to be kidding me. I read 11 teens die EVERY DAY from car accidents. That is 4,000 per year.

Then one girl is murdered and all of a sudden running is too dangerous?

Get a grip, people.

Do you live in Afghanistan?

You have got to be kidding me. Of course you should let your young kids run alone if they want to. Nothing is going to happen other than they will get in shape and maybe pick up a very healthy lifetime habit.

Don't let the facts get in your way: CRIMES AGAINST YOUNG PEOPLE ARE CURRENTLY AT AT LEAST A 30-YEAR LOW.

See this:

http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/sites/default/files/71_fig01.jpg

It is just a fact that your kid is safer running out alone today than he/she was in the 70's, in the 80's, or in the 90's.

The only thing that has changed is in the rare case that something happens, today's media world makes it so every paranoid parent hears about it.

5er wrote:

this is a classic - people drive around in cars all day with their teen girls, even talking on the phone at the same time, but letting them run by themselves is too dangerous?

You've got to be kidding me. I read 11 teens die EVERY DAY from car accidents. That is 4,000 per year.

Then one girl is murdered and all of a sudden running is too dangerous?

Get a grip, people.

this. while it's scarier, running alone is soooo much safer than tons of other things you wouldn't even think twice about her doing.

is running alone really any more dangerous than a girl doing anything alone? you've gotta just let her live her life...

lindsey ferguson of saratoga was super-close to being abducted by her car after school practice/she was abducted i guess then just saved shortly after...

should her family not have let her walk to the car alone after running with a group?

NotParanoidAndroid wrote:

I see news stories every day about a local car crash killing somebody. Should people be allowed to drive? You get the point.

Bad analogy. No one is saying don't run. Just don't run ALONE. It's common sense.

I wont allow my daughter to run alone. Hell, I wont allow my son either, until he was at least in High School. Lot of stupid people out there. If me and my wife both run anyways, why not run with them? Your case is a little different being that she is your sister and you don't live at home any more.

After an incident that happend to my wife not too long ago, I'm worried when SHE runs alone. I have her take a taser that I bought for her.

We both were out for a run. We were running together but she was tired and decided to cut back early. I continued on. I had a bad feeling about leaving her, and I remember thinking this being a up and back route I should hurry up to get back to her, just to make sure she's fine. Actually most of the run that I ran without her was around a lake. So I really started flying, trying to get back to her just in case. Sure enough somebody tried something. The one time I didn't run with her, it happend.

She was running back when a vehicle driving by her going in the other direction slams on his breaks and turns around. The vehicle is driving by her really slow, then suddenly speeds up and cuts her off at the next intersection and stops. She then quickly turned around and started sprinting back towards me. The truck then backs up and continues to pursue her. She try's to take a short cut on a dirt road and he didn't follow. He went around and cut her off. He obviously new the area very well. Just when the guy jumps out of the truck, I come running around the corner. She gasps as she passes me and trys to drag me with her. The guy sees me and jumps back into his truck and drove away.

So yes it may seem somewhat safe. But all it takes is that one guy on that one day and you'll regret it the rest of your life.

tweet tweet wrote:

Why not build your sister a guilded cage and have her live inside it?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/The_Gilded_Cage.jpg

OK- you must have posted that painting for a reason. Please explain the meaning behind the scene?

Thanks for all the opinions, both for and against. Obviously it's not my choice to make but I'd like to atleast have an informed conversation with my mom. My sis is constantly complaining to me about not getting her run in b/c she couldn't find someone to go with her, I do what I can but I don't live there anymore. I think it is w/in reason for her to run in the open heavily traveled park by her house, I've done 100+ runs there and have never seen anything weird, usually old people walking their dogs. I never think twice when my wife goes to the park alone I do think my mom is a bit paranoid but she has every right to be. I know one day I will have to make this decision with my own daughter, and I'd like to think that I'd let her run alone once in awhile as long as I'm comfortable with the location and she understands how to be cautious.

BarBitYouAte wrote:

You have got to be kidding me. Of course you should let your young kids run alone if they want to. Nothing is going to happen other than they will get in shape and maybe pick up a very healthy lifetime habit.

Don't let the facts get in your way: CRIMES AGAINST YOUNG PEOPLE ARE CURRENTLY AT AT LEAST A 30-YEAR LOW.

See this:

http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/sites/default/files/71_fig01.jpg

It is just a fact that your kid is safer running out alone today than he/she was in the 70's, in the 80's, or in the 90's.

The only thing that has changed is in the rare case that something happens, today's media world makes it so every paranoid parent hears about it.

This is it. Shell more likely die from alcohol poisoning at a college party surrounded by her "friends."

Note Bird inside guilded cage (i.e., wife) vs. Bird outside window (i.e., dancers outside window). Also note the husband's detached facial expression and body language.

Understand?

Not as good as I once was wrote:

I wont allow my daughter to run alone. After an incident that happend to my wife not too long ago, I'm worried when SHE runs alone.

Not as good as I once was wrote = man in painting

I am a woman in my late 20s, who runs alone regularly. However, after various creepy encounters, I'm definitely WAY more cautious now than I was ten years ago. I live in a very populated urban area, but my rule of thumb is that I don't run alone on neighborhood streets in the dark, and when running in a park or in other areas not heavily populated with traffic, I only run at times when it is populated enough that I can see one person (or a car) in front of me and one person (or a car) behind me at virtually all times.

I remember a recent trip to Santa Fe, when I asked locals for running route suggestions. Virtually every man suggested the "rail trail" as a fabulous running location. When I tried it, I was blown away by what a terrible running route it was, because it was 100% isolated for very long stretches. It just brought home how different running can be for men than for women.

while I think teenage girls should be allowed to run alone, of course you have to make sure they have common sense and don't put themselves into a bad place. Running in isolated parks or dark city streets is stupid.