Learner Dad: How long is too long when your daughter is out of sight in a big shop?

I need to get it into my head that she moves faster than a three-year-old now that she’s nine

We’d only sent her in for milk, but there’s every chance she’ll pick up an angle grinder while she’s in there.

Our daughter walked to the shop by herself the other day. She’s nine. I have no idea if this is too young or too old for a child to be left off out by themselves, but for me it felt about four years too soon.

My wife felt the same way so I was sent after  her . To paint a picture, the walk from our house to Aldi doesn’t cross any major roads, it’s a five-minute walk down the hill, turn right and right again and you’re in the front door. So the risk was pretty low. Unfortunately, the risk that we’d panic if she wasn’t back after 11 minutes was pretty high, so there was no way she was making this inaugural walk on her own.