European here. I walked to school, sometimes more than 3 miles from 8 to 12 years old. Then I took one hour of train from 12 to 18. Your comment got it right,

European here. I walked to school, sometimes more than 3 miles from 8 to 12 years old. Then I took one hour of train from 12 to 18. Your comment got it right, there is a weird paranoia in the US. Typical American parents never allow their children to do anything by themselves anymore. When I was a kid, I used to play for hours in the street from my neighborhood, sometimes climbing on trees in the wood nearby. My parents had no idea where I was or what I was doing and that was fine. I cannot even imagine what American parents would think if this happened in the US nowadays. Social services would probably be called upon my parents. I'm convinced that having micromanaging parent is not sane for a kid's mental development.