3 ms·

I was born in '71. When I was 11 or 12 my friends and I could ride our bikes basically wherever we wanted to go. Our only rule was be home before the street li

I was born in '71. When I was 11 or 12 my friends and I could ride our bikes basically wherever we wanted to go. Our only rule was be home before the street lights turned on. The 80's happened which brought a few highly publicized child abductions/murders. Notably the Walsh child. His father scared every parent into becoming a helicopter parent. (Not judging, just saying). People really haven't loosened up much since. Every stranger is dangerous.

the-dude 9y ago
Strangely enough, the movie E.T. comes to my mind. It is a movie of my 'era' and it depicted a loose (normal) parenting style. Of course it was fiction, but still.
- JustSomeNobody 9y ago
  Not fiction for me[0]. This was pretty much us. We could go where ever. And yeah, my folks parenting style was a bit... loose. But I was never one to get into trouble really, so there was some trust built up there. [0] Except the alien thing.
- bg4 9y ago
  Born in 1977. When in elementary school I would leave in morning, come home for lunch, come back for dinner, come back when getting dark. I would ride my bike all over the neighborhood, play in the creek, play in the woods, etc. Just like the kids in Stranger Things. If I let my elementary age children do that today the police would be called. My sister has had neighbors call because her kids were playing in their front yard. It's a 100% sad and ridiculous situation. We're raising an imprisoned generation who can't handle anything. How is staring at a glowing screen all day a childhood? EDIT: I suppose I should tone down my rhetoric but this really worries me.
pavel_lishin 9y ago
Yeah, when I moved to Texas, I was riding my bike ten miles to the next biggest city[1] and back for pizza. Some other kids had the same kind of freedom; some didn't at all. My understanding of Russia is that serial murderers Did Not Exist by decree; certainly not serial child murderers like Andrei Chikatilo. The city never felt unsafe to me; I think I really felt that ethos of "we're all in this together", especially based on a childhood incident where I got lost at a public event, and a stranger brought me home. (Of course I knew where I lived; I was a child, not an idiot.) [1] https://goo.gl/maps/jx3Y76UuXN62 https://goo.gl/maps/jx3Y76UuXN62 - moderately rural most of the way.

the-dude 9y ago

Strangely enough, the movie E.T. comes to my mind. It is a movie of my 'era' and it depicted a loose (normal) parenting style. Of course it was fiction, but still.

JustSomeNobody 9y ago
Not fiction for me[0]. This was pretty much us. We could go where ever. And yeah, my folks parenting style was a bit... loose. But I was never one to get into trouble really, so there was some trust built up there. [0] Except the alien thing.
bg4 9y ago
Born in 1977. When in elementary school I would leave in morning, come home for lunch, come back for dinner, come back when getting dark. I would ride my bike all over the neighborhood, play in the creek, play in the woods, etc. Just like the kids in Stranger Things. If I let my elementary age children do that today the police would be called. My sister has had neighbors call because her kids were playing in their front yard. It's a 100% sad and ridiculous situation. We're raising an imprisoned generation who can't handle anything. How is staring at a glowing screen all day a childhood? EDIT: I suppose I should tone down my rhetoric but this really worries me.

pavel_lishin 9y ago

Yeah, when I moved to Texas, I was riding my bike ten miles to the next biggest city[1] and back for pizza. Some other kids had the same kind of freedom; some didn't at all. My understanding of Russia is that serial murderers Did Not Exist by decree; certainly not serial child murderers like Andrei Chikatilo. The city never felt unsafe to me; I think I really felt that ethos of "we're all in this together", especially based on a childhood incident where I got lost at a public event, and a stranger brought me home. (Of course I knew where I lived; I was a child, not an idiot.) [1] https://goo.gl/maps/jx3Y76UuXN62 https://goo.gl/maps/jx3Y76UuXN62 - moderately rural most of the way.