Care and Feeding is Slate’s parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here .

Dear Care and Feeding,

Our old house was on a very busy road.

So we had a strict rule that the kids weren’t allowed out the front door without an adult. They’re 9 and 11 years old, so I know this sounds like overkill. But there wasn’t a porch or much of a front yard space, and the road had no sidewalks. In the time we lived there, a car once lost control and crashed into our front yard. Even normal traffic went at 50 mph. We had a nice big backyard: The kids played there.

We moved before school started this year. Our new house is in a small development with sidewalks and slow traffic. It’s close to a commercial street, where there’s a public library, some stores, and a

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