[Gayle]

This question is really killing me at the moment. My two children (one 6 in a weeks time and the other nearly 4) want to play out. They were playing in our garden (which has a really high wall) when another kid came to the gate. They started chatting and the next thing I knew they'd invited this kid in. That was fine, she seems nice. Anyway, now this kid wants to play with my two quite often and can't understand why I won't let them out of the garden whilst she's allowed to roam the street.

Tonight, the kid in question came into the garden to play with them when it started raining. They all came running inside the house and started a game of snakes and ladders. After a little while I asked whether she'd told her mummy where she was. She looked at me really blankly and said it didn't matter because she was allowed to play out.

Now my two want similar sorts of freedom. So how far should I allow them to wander without panicking? BTW the little girl is 7, so she's a bit older than mine.