Allowing 10 year old to roam the neighborhood

Hi all, Kind of wanted to get your input on when you let your kids "roam."For starters, to be fair, we live in what basically amounts to a suburban neighborhood plopped in a rural area. There is a small neighborhood where we live, with the typical cookie cutter houses, park in the middle, et cetera, and a path through the green belt to the next neighborhood (also surrounded by fields and whatnot.)I wasn't aware of this, but apparently he and our babysitter's kids (our baby sitter lives literally next door) sometimes ride their bikes to and through the green belt. It's about a mile away, and if green belts aren't a thing where you live, in suburban CO green belts are bands of prairie land between neighborhoods, typically with bike/walking trails to connect the neighborhoodsSo, my ten year old comes to me and asks me if he can bike the green belt trail by himself. I wasn't even aware that our babysitter was allowing her two kids and mine to bike the trail, which is probably at least a half a mile from our house, although I do know she insists that they play/bike outside the house on nice days, which I approve of because I don't want him sitting inside all the time.So I told him that the first step was showing me that he knows how to get there and get back without getting lost. After dinner he and I walked all the way to and through the green belt. He knew exactly where he was at all times (including announcing street names and things of interest like "that house has a St. Bernard" - confirmed by petting St. Bernard.) He led us all the way there and all the way back, and knew all the street names along the way. I still feel nervous about him going by himself, which is what he was originally asking. I want to give him freedom, but I'm scared of other people. Should I loosen that "leash?" The thing that I confirmed (not learned, I already knew this) is that he's super competent. But he's still only 10? What do you guys do? via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2ACdnlq