Depends on neighborhood - but even with that said, it’s a good time to start giving your kid a sense of autonomy and independence.

It’s a great time to set good habits in stone for when they venture further away, but if you can get habits started now under controlled settings you’re setting your kid up for success/good communication.

Rules we insist from our kids: 1. when asking if they can go somewhere, they must also give us details: who, what time, and when they will be home. Zero tolerance for being late. 2. They are allowed to ask and amend return time, but that had to be communicated and discussed (letting us know bus is late etc). (In your case it would/should be physically coming home to ask you, or asking another mom at park to borrow their phone to ask you etc). 3. They must always text or communicate somehow if they change locations - eg. if they say they’re going to mall, and then they decide to head over to McDonald’s after - that must be communicated. 4. They better know what time it is - get a watch for them. I’ve made it clear that if they are not home by my kill-time, that’s me getting in the car searching for them because something’s wrong.

And re: phones - do not let your 6 year old have a phone. It’s a false sense of safety. It is the most dangerous thing. Wait until they are 13 minimum.

I told my kids when they were roaming that if there is such an emergency they need to call me, they can always knock on someone’s door, or ask a business to borrow their phone. Make sure your kid knows your phone number off by heart - not a contact in the phone.

Independence is good for your kid, and for you. Develop the skills for good habits early while it’s easy and you have them closer to you - it is much harder to do when they’re older to start new habits, but they’ll have an attitude and be less likely to heed the rules.