4 ms·

It started in the 80s with the Jacob Wetterling [1] kidnapping and things like the McMartin preschool trial [2]. Stranger danger, fear of crime (it was much hi

by sykh 8y ago

It started in the 80s with the Jacob Wetterling [1] kidnapping and things like the McMartin preschool trial [2]. Stranger danger, fear of crime (it was much higher in the 80s than now) and whatnot has lead parents being overly afraid to let their kids roam. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Wetterling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Wetterling [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial

scarface74 8y ago
In the 80s, the danger was very real in Atlanta.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_murders_of_1979%E2%80%9381 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_murders_of_1979%E2%80%...
- sykh 8y ago
  That was for a brief period of time. Statisticallly stranger danger is way overblown.
orbitur 8y ago
I think this might have contributed, but a larger contributor is likely the explosion of housing developments with larger lot sizes and suburbs-of-suburbs/exurbs, which prevent a kid from knowing any other kids living within a mile radius. We're a part of the problem, my daughter is lucky she can walk to one of her schoolfriends houses. Her other besties are a minimum 30 minute walk, but they all attend the same school they're zoned for.
- adrianratnapala 8y ago
  But that kind of distance was pretty normal for me too growing up in Brisbane Australia in the '90s. Though that statistic is skewed by me being a nerdchild with few friends...
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  > Her other besties are a minimum 30 minute wa That's what bikes are for though, right?
  - orbitur 8y ago
    Here's where I let armchair "back in my day" parents down: I don't trust the drivers here. We also have massive elevation diffs and no sidewalks anywhere. Some ditches are basically cliffs.
sizzle 8y ago
Also I've noticed the proliferation of parents using 'kid tracking' apps for Android along with 'find my phone' iOS type tracking for their kids phones to keep tabs on them for peace of mind (find my phone is this a feature out of the box for iPhones?). I think this helicopter parent micromanagement has just exploded with smartphone gps availability whereas in the 90's parents were pulling out the ol' paper map before road trips and maybe had a malfunctioning Tom Tom gps. Would love to see some data on tech savvy parents tracking their kids, anyone know about this?
- badwolf 8y ago
  My brother recently moved into a new neighborhood. His 9 year old daughter/my niece made a friend with a kid down the street (3 or 4 houses down) My brother wouldn't let her go visit them before he got her a GPS tracking smartwatch with LTE for kids. (We grew up riding our bikes to/from school, going and playing with neighborhood kids, wandering around, etc...)

by sykh 8y ago

scarface74 8y ago

In the 80s, the danger was very real in Atlanta.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_murders_of_1979%E2%80%9381 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_murders_of_1979%E2%80%...

sykh 8y ago
That was for a brief period of time. Statisticallly stranger danger is way overblown.

orbitur 8y ago

I think this might have contributed, but a larger contributor is likely the explosion of housing developments with larger lot sizes and suburbs-of-suburbs/exurbs, which prevent a kid from knowing any other kids living within a mile radius. We're a part of the problem, my daughter is lucky she can walk to one of her schoolfriends houses. Her other besties are a minimum 30 minute walk, but they all attend the same school they're zoned for.

adrianratnapala 8y ago
But that kind of distance was pretty normal for me too growing up in Brisbane Australia in the '90s. Though that statistic is skewed by me being a nerdchild with few friends...
toomanybeersies 8y ago
> Her other besties are a minimum 30 minute wa That's what bikes are for though, right?
- orbitur 8y ago
  Here's where I let armchair "back in my day" parents down: I don't trust the drivers here. We also have massive elevation diffs and no sidewalks anywhere. Some ditches are basically cliffs.

sizzle 8y ago

Also I've noticed the proliferation of parents using 'kid tracking' apps for Android along with 'find my phone' iOS type tracking for their kids phones to keep tabs on them for peace of mind (find my phone is this a feature out of the box for iPhones?). I think this helicopter parent micromanagement has just exploded with smartphone gps availability whereas in the 90's parents were pulling out the ol' paper map before road trips and maybe had a malfunctioning Tom Tom gps. Would love to see some data on tech savvy parents tracking their kids, anyone know about this?

badwolf 8y ago
My brother recently moved into a new neighborhood. His 9 year old daughter/my niece made a friend with a kid down the street (3 or 4 houses down) My brother wouldn't let her go visit them before he got her a GPS tracking smartwatch with LTE for kids. (We grew up riding our bikes to/from school, going and playing with neighborhood kids, wandering around, etc...)