Well summer is here and in full swing. All our house rules are posted. Everyone knows the curfew rules.

However... Not everyone agrees with them. Out of all my children I am finding my daughter Angela to be the one who will challenge me quickly on anything and everything she does not agree with.

At 8 years old she believes that she should be able to have a later curfew. Mind you she hardly ever disobeys us. She has yet to need a real grounding.
Her behavior is almost always positive. So we tend to listen when she wants to argue her point. (Plus it helps that she is so proper about it.)

With the summer days being so much longer and the sun not even setting till almost 10:00 PM. She wants to be allowed to stay outside until 9:00 PM.
I think at this age that she should be in earlier.
My husband thinks if she is just out in front of the house that we can stretch her curfew and allow her a little bit of leverage. So he has agreed with her on the 9:00 PM idea.

I guess that since she is my last little one at home I am very much over protective. After raising four kids you would think I'd be a pro at all this stuff.
What I have found is every child is remarkably different. The amount of respect you have for each child and how they have earned it comes into play when you are making rules for things like curfew.

So what do you think? What are age appropriate curfews? When should a responsible 8 year old be in the house for the night? Does it matter if the day light is still present till 10 PM or not?

I know that my 16 year old has a 9 PM curfew. I stand by my 8 PM curfew for my younger daughter.
Most of the time after 6 PM I even supervise her a little closer.

I just know that setting standards for curfews early is one of the best ways to prevent disagreements in the future with the teen years approaching.

Please take a moment and share your opinion. What curfews have you set for your children? Do you set them by age or by the child's ability to be responsible? Inquiring minds want to know ...hehehe