GIVING UP CONTROL.(children's freedom)(Brief article)

Crain's New York Business, February, 2007

Get ready. "Fourth grade is when kids start pushing to do things on their own,'' says Lisa Spiegel, director of Soho Parenting. "Let them take independent steps, like going into a store when you're nearby.'' Get set. With middle school, children start traveling to school on their own, and ranging farther around the city.

"Teach them how to read a subway map and about safety,'' Ms. Spiegel says. Cell phones come in handy now. Go. When high school starts, curfews need to be set, both for after-school and for evenings out with friends. Relax. By senior year, they're on their own. "The amount of control you're going to have is limited,'' says Lawrence Balter, a psychology professor at New York University. Good luck!