I was 6 y/o (in the 80s) when I got my first bicycle, after which I got to explore my part of the world as I see fit, unsupervised. Just be back in time for din

I was 6 y/o (in the 80s) when I got my first bicycle, after which I got to explore my part of the world as I see fit, unsupervised. Just be back in time for diner. My parents had no idea where I was, whom I was with and what I was doing. I learned how to use my body and its limits. I learned to make friends as well as enemies. We played creatively with whatever environment we encountered in ways positive and negative (setting small things on fire and such). Play. Experiment. Screw up. Learn. All of this in an environment far less safe than today, in a pretty dysfunctional neighborhood. One day I came home crying, as a much larger kid hit me in the face. I found little emotional support as my dad said to just hit him back. As I explained that the kid was much older and larger..."well, get a piece of wood then". Crude. Today's parents may even find it neglectful or abusive. But it wasn't. It's one of several experiences that have shaped me for the better. As I did get that piece of wood and walked towards my attacker, he could see me coming. I was scared as hell, this wood would do very little in the hands of a significantly weaker kid. Yet he made a run for it, and as word got around, nobody ever messed with me again. Because I was strong? No. Because I came back. I solved a seemingly impossible problem all by myself. It's made me a problem solver for life. I learned that negative experiences are inevitably part of life, and thus ordinary. This affords me to take a hit (physically, financially, otherwise) without getting into a state of existential panic. Nor would I waste much time complaining about it. I just calmly accept it and solve it. Another example were the few years where we were really poor. The family was under regular threat of repossession. Sometimes my dad told me to hide my toys. Half of those toys were fake. My dad's attempts to mimic A-brand toys by replicating them with cardboard and tape. Traumatic? No. I simply learned to detach myself from objects. As they're just that: objects. I still got fed, had clothes, and with an outdoor play lifestyle, I needed little else to be happy. I carry this with me to this day: I appreciate luxuries, but don't depend on them emotionally. The point of all this is that this unshielded, unmanaged childhood is life itself. By experiencing its highs and lows, you develop skills and character, useful for your entire life. Plus it's just a whole lot more fun compared to a golden prison. "A ship is most safe in the harbor, but that's not what ships are for". Oh, also...stop grinding kids by overloading them with tasks and rules. Fuck "responsibility". They're kids. They can grind for 50 years once they're adults, now is the time for irresponsibility :)