4 ms·

I grew up in the burbs and found it absolutely "dreadful" as far as being able to do things outside without a car. Now that I live in a city, I often think abou

I grew up in the burbs and found it absolutely "dreadful" as far as being able to do things outside without a car. Now that I live in a city, I often think about how much happier and freer I would've felt as a child growing up in one. (I had similar feelings when I actually was a kid and watched cartoons like "Hey Arnold!" set in cities. I was so jealous of those kids.) As a 12 year old in a city you can walk to a park or get on the metro/bus and visit some friends or go see a movie etc. In the burbs if your parents aren't home or are otherwise unwilling to drive you somewhere you're basically stuck at home counting the days until you turn 16.

protomyth 8y ago
As a 12 year old in a city you can walk to a park or get on the metro/bus and visit some friends or go see a movie etc. If some "concerned citizen" doesn't report the 12 year old to child protective services. Looking at how children are pushed into so much fear it is no wonder how many of them escape into the virtual.
- throwaway287391 8y ago
  I could be wrong, but my impression is that those CPS calls are a chiefly suburban phenomenon.
  - wcunning 8y ago
    The original story of that was a 12 year old being allowed to ride the New York subway by himself. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenore_Skenazy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenore_Skenazy
    - throwaway287391 8y ago
      From your link, (1) it was a 9 year old, and (2) I don't see anything about CPS calls or any similar panic. > Skenazy's April 1, 2008 column in The New York Sun, "Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone," described her making the controversial decision to let her son take the New York City Subway home alone, which was completed without incident.
      - bookofjoe 8y ago
        I recall my mother telling me that when I was 8, I used to take my 5 year-old-brother places — just the two of us — on the electric streetcar. I handled the money to pay our fares. This was in Milwaukee in the mid-50s. No big deal.
- bunderbunder 8y ago
  Cor, if people started doing that in my city, forget about kids going out to have fun, school attendance would drop like a stone on account of it becoming de facto illegal for you to let your kids transport themselves to school. That sounds more to me like a thing that happens in the suburbs, where kids need to be chauffeured around in cars everywhere and the streets are too fast and too packed with cars for bikes to be safe, so parents don't even get the opportunity to contemplate letting their kids out of their sight.
  - protomyth 8y ago
    I'm pretty sure its a city and suburbs issue (just from news articles), but I am at a loss as to how to get the statistics to prove either case.
- bookofjoe 8y ago
  Spot on. In Upper St. Clair, Pa., where my daughter/son-in-law/grandson live, any child walking alone who doesn't appear to be a teenager will be stopped and interrogated by a police officer in a patrol car.
- thebiss 8y ago
  Only takes a few reports like this one, where a 10 y/o and 6 y/o are referred to CPS a half mile from home, for parents to keep kids in. https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/national-international/Md-Free-Range-Parents-Found-Negligent-for-Child-Neglect-Meitiv-294729761.html https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/national-international/M...
magicalhippo 8y ago
I lived in a small town from 5 to 9. Had friends nearby, and lots of nature to play in right outside our doorstep. We invented all sorts of fun and games, and had a really good time. At 9 my family moved back to the big city. Not as much nature to play in, so stayed more indoors. But overall I'm glad we did. As a teen there was absolutely nothing to do in the town we moved from. Drugs became a really big issue I heard. At least the city provided activities so we didn't get bored out of our minds.
TaupeRanger 8y ago
What in the world are you talking about? Suburbs are not remote islands in the middle of the ocean. In every suburban area I've lived in (at least a dozen in 2 different states) older kids just hop on their bikes and go wherever they want.
coldtea 8y ago
>Now that I live in a city, I often think about how much happier and freer I would've felt as a child growing up in one. It's not like combining a suburb space / greenery etc with a city experience is impossible. We just don't do it, since we mostly build our cities and suburbs for cars. Cities should have plenty of parks, easy access to dense areas tastefully built (for walking, shopping, restaurants, coffee), and have plenty of trees, small and larger squares, and public transport, with several public buildings and monuments thrown in. A river or large lake or sea wouldn't hurt either where possible.
DrScump 8y ago
It's a shame that bikes weren't allowed in your burbs. When I was a kid in Cupertino and San Jose, I biked everywhere. I biked to school, to meet friends in other neighborhoods, shopping centers (even Milpitas to Eastridge), etc. Even the shitshow that was County Transit got me to Los Gatos ahd Palo Alto. The nearest bus stop was a mile away; I biked there. And I'd argue that most burbs have fewer crime and drug risks, but both tend to be way overstated by media. Akao, cities tend to have a much higher ratio of people to sports fields. If you play baseball / football / soccer, you have much greater access (for pickup games as well as organized leagues).

protomyth 8y ago

As a 12 year old in a city you can walk to a park or get on the metro/bus and visit some friends or go see a movie etc. If some "concerned citizen" doesn't report the 12 year old to child protective services. Looking at how children are pushed into so much fear it is no wonder how many of them escape into the virtual.

throwaway287391 8y ago
I could be wrong, but my impression is that those CPS calls are a chiefly suburban phenomenon.
- wcunning 8y ago
  The original story of that was a 12 year old being allowed to ride the New York subway by himself. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenore_Skenazy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenore_Skenazy
  - throwaway287391 8y ago
    From your link, (1) it was a 9 year old, and (2) I don't see anything about CPS calls or any similar panic. > Skenazy's April 1, 2008 column in The New York Sun, "Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone," described her making the controversial decision to let her son take the New York City Subway home alone, which was completed without incident.
    - bookofjoe 8y ago
      I recall my mother telling me that when I was 8, I used to take my 5 year-old-brother places — just the two of us — on the electric streetcar. I handled the money to pay our fares. This was in Milwaukee in the mid-50s. No big deal.
bunderbunder 8y ago
Cor, if people started doing that in my city, forget about kids going out to have fun, school attendance would drop like a stone on account of it becoming de facto illegal for you to let your kids transport themselves to school. That sounds more to me like a thing that happens in the suburbs, where kids need to be chauffeured around in cars everywhere and the streets are too fast and too packed with cars for bikes to be safe, so parents don't even get the opportunity to contemplate letting their kids out of their sight.
- protomyth 8y ago
  I'm pretty sure its a city and suburbs issue (just from news articles), but I am at a loss as to how to get the statistics to prove either case.
bookofjoe 8y ago
Spot on. In Upper St. Clair, Pa., where my daughter/son-in-law/grandson live, any child walking alone who doesn't appear to be a teenager will be stopped and interrogated by a police officer in a patrol car.
thebiss 8y ago
Only takes a few reports like this one, where a 10 y/o and 6 y/o are referred to CPS a half mile from home, for parents to keep kids in. https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/national-international/Md-Free-Range-Parents-Found-Negligent-for-Child-Neglect-Meitiv-294729761.html https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/national-international/M...

magicalhippo 8y ago

I lived in a small town from 5 to 9. Had friends nearby, and lots of nature to play in right outside our doorstep. We invented all sorts of fun and games, and had a really good time. At 9 my family moved back to the big city. Not as much nature to play in, so stayed more indoors. But overall I'm glad we did. As a teen there was absolutely nothing to do in the town we moved from. Drugs became a really big issue I heard. At least the city provided activities so we didn't get bored out of our minds.

TaupeRanger 8y ago

What in the world are you talking about? Suburbs are not remote islands in the middle of the ocean. In every suburban area I've lived in (at least a dozen in 2 different states) older kids just hop on their bikes and go wherever they want.

coldtea 8y ago

>Now that I live in a city, I often think about how much happier and freer I would've felt as a child growing up in one. It's not like combining a suburb space / greenery etc with a city experience is impossible. We just don't do it, since we mostly build our cities and suburbs for cars. Cities should have plenty of parks, easy access to dense areas tastefully built (for walking, shopping, restaurants, coffee), and have plenty of trees, small and larger squares, and public transport, with several public buildings and monuments thrown in. A river or large lake or sea wouldn't hurt either where possible.

DrScump 8y ago

It's a shame that bikes weren't allowed in your burbs. When I was a kid in Cupertino and San Jose, I biked everywhere. I biked to school, to meet friends in other neighborhoods, shopping centers (even Milpitas to Eastridge), etc. Even the shitshow that was County Transit got me to Los Gatos ahd Palo Alto. The nearest bus stop was a mile away; I biked there. And I'd argue that most burbs have fewer crime and drug risks, but both tend to be way overstated by media. Akao, cities tend to have a much higher ratio of people to sports fields. If you play baseball / football / soccer, you have much greater access (for pickup games as well as organized leagues).