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What households would that be? I took the bus to school, on my own, since day two of primary school. It wasn't hard, and I don't recall anyone ever getting los

What households would that be? I took the bus to school, on my own, since day two of primary school. It wasn't hard, and I don't recall anyone ever getting lost. Even if they had, it's not the end of the world; they'll find their way back eventually. It's a peculiar American-ism to assume that children are incapable of handling themselves, and one that's been repeatedly proven false.

megaman22 9y ago
You know that, and I know that, but god protect you from the busybodies and CPS if you treat your children like they arent completely incompetent and made out of glass.
mgkimsal 9y ago
it's only even somewhat recent america. in the 70s and 80s I walked to school or rode the bus, as did the hundreds/thousands of other kids in the district. no doubt some kids were personally drive, or carpooled with other families, but it was a rarity. the parking lots simply couldn't have accommodated dozens/hundreds of car dropoffs/pickups, and it didn't happen. i don't quite know when this started...
gareim 9y ago
Don't extrapolate the safety of the neighborhoods you lived in to the safety of all neighborhoods. There are some in my city that I don't feel safe walking alone in as an adult.
- Pxtl 9y ago
  Stranger danger is less of a concern than traffic - car accidents are the leading cause of preventable death in children iirc.
jlgaddis 9y ago
Nowadays, that kind of "negligence" will get your children taken away and land you in jail. That and other related/similar societal changes have me scared of having children. I would get locked up for spanking my kids' butt or letting them play outside or something like that.
- megaman22 9y ago
  It's staggering. My favorite is the people that call the police if parents leave teen-aged children in the car. From about nine on, I used to beg to be allowed to sit in the car and read instead of getting dragged along through stores.
- sergers 9y ago
  Recently a dad in BC let his kids take transit by themselves (after a lengthy period of testing before letting them journey on their own), he was banned from letting his kids take the bus. http://bc.ctvnews.ca/mobile/dad-told-children-too-young-to-ride-bus-by-themselves-1.3576620 http://bc.ctvnews.ca/mobile/dad-told-children-too-young-to-r...
tzs 9y ago
I did not say anything about children getting lost on the way to school. I said "getting ready and out the door in the morning", which generally just concerns activities that take place in the home. Children are not simply small humans, differing from adults only in size. There are significant cognitive differences between very young children and adult humans. They are not fully developed cognitively until the early 20s. In particular, young children are not good at time management, balancing current actions against future consequences, anticipating and planning for how things could go wrong, and setting priorities.

megaman22 9y ago

You know that, and I know that, but god protect you from the busybodies and CPS if you treat your children like they arent completely incompetent and made out of glass.

mgkimsal 9y ago

it's only even somewhat recent america. in the 70s and 80s I walked to school or rode the bus, as did the hundreds/thousands of other kids in the district. no doubt some kids were personally drive, or carpooled with other families, but it was a rarity. the parking lots simply couldn't have accommodated dozens/hundreds of car dropoffs/pickups, and it didn't happen. i don't quite know when this started...

gareim 9y ago

Don't extrapolate the safety of the neighborhoods you lived in to the safety of all neighborhoods. There are some in my city that I don't feel safe walking alone in as an adult.

Pxtl 9y ago
Stranger danger is less of a concern than traffic - car accidents are the leading cause of preventable death in children iirc.

jlgaddis 9y ago

Nowadays, that kind of "negligence" will get your children taken away and land you in jail. That and other related/similar societal changes have me scared of having children. I would get locked up for spanking my kids' butt or letting them play outside or something like that.

megaman22 9y ago
It's staggering. My favorite is the people that call the police if parents leave teen-aged children in the car. From about nine on, I used to beg to be allowed to sit in the car and read instead of getting dragged along through stores.
sergers 9y ago
Recently a dad in BC let his kids take transit by themselves (after a lengthy period of testing before letting them journey on their own), he was banned from letting his kids take the bus. http://bc.ctvnews.ca/mobile/dad-told-children-too-young-to-ride-bus-by-themselves-1.3576620 http://bc.ctvnews.ca/mobile/dad-told-children-too-young-to-r...

tzs 9y ago

I did not say anything about children getting lost on the way to school. I said "getting ready and out the door in the morning", which generally just concerns activities that take place in the home. Children are not simply small humans, differing from adults only in size. There are significant cognitive differences between very young children and adult humans. They are not fully developed cognitively until the early 20s. In particular, young children are not good at time management, balancing current actions against future consequences, anticipating and planning for how things could go wrong, and setting priorities.