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Part of this simply has to do with nosy busy-bodies ready to pounce on the phone to call Child Protective Services (or equivalent) whenever they see a child out
by sidlls 4y ago
Part of this simply has to do with nosy busy-bodies ready to pounce on the phone to call Child Protective Services (or equivalent) whenever they see a child out and about on their own. I'm not afraid to send my kids to the park (few blocks down the street) alone, ride their bikes alone or instruct them to go outside after breakfast on the weekend on not come back before lunch, or hell even dinner (not that it matters for socializing--I see hardly any kids their age, pre-teens, outside, even though there are plenty around). I am afraid of what my neighbors would do.
The other part is that, unless one lives in the country, it has become much harder to find neighborhoods where kids can safely roam free. I lived in both a small rural town and a larger, more urban (but not "big city") city as a child, and was able to run around the neighborhood in both places without issue, back in the 80s. I've visited the larger city I spent the second half of my childhood in as a child recently: there simply isn't any space for kids to roam anymore there. Some might say my generation's parents were too extreme in the freedom they gave us. Perhaps, but the pendulum has swung too wide in the other direction, in my opinion.
- nonethewiser 4y agoUrbanization has that affect on adults too. You own less, are more dependent on public services, and are subject to far more rules. It’s a convenient trade off for many.
- eru 4y agoOut in the sticks, you need a car to get around. Especially, your kid needs to be car-ed around. In a well-functioning city, your kid can walk places, ride a bike or take the bus or train. About rules: there a lot more social rules in small towns than in cities, where no one cares who you are?
- em-bee 4y agoi strongly disagree with that claim. short of living in the wilderness far from everyone else where you can do what you want, i don't believe that this is true. and public services don't make me dependent but they free me from having to take care of things myself.
- samtho 4y ago> Part of this simply has to do with nosy busy-bodies ready to pounce on the phone to call Child Protective Services (or equivalent) whenever they see a child out and about on their own. I get the impression that this problem happens a lot less frequently than social media and our personal echo chambers would have us believe. I am skeptical the prevalence is actually significant because this situation sounds like an outrage tactic to members of the population that grew up more “free range.” This is something I would like to be proven wrong on, if the data supports it.
- laverya 4y ago"If you do this and someone objects, you will have your kids taken away. But don't worry, people very rarely object! You don't have anyone in your neighborhood that really doesn't like you, right?" This is not nearly as reassuring as you may think it is.
- samtho 4y agoI suppose it’s hard for me to really understand this situation. I live in a mixed-income neighborhood within a major US city and there are tons of kids that walk around in transit to/from school, the park, the bus stop, with younger kid always accompanied by older ones (10 and up). My neighborhood is fairly tight knit and if a kid goes “missing”, it’s usually because their phone died or something and the parent overreacted after not being able to reach them. I would be concerned if I see a kid walking alone without any clear purpose/destination, but even then, an isolated incident is not going to be a call to CPS.
- laverya 4y ago> I would be concerned if I see a kid walking alone without any clear purpose/destination, but even then, an isolated incident is not going to be a call to CPS. You're damning yourself with faint praise, here. Giving kids independence means that they're regularly going to be outside alone (or with friends), and often without a clear purpose or destination. And it's sort of sounding like you'd be considering calling CPS over that.
- rout39574 4y agoYour children's neighborhoods are dramatically safer than yours were, which were safer than their parents'. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-462091/How-children-lost-right-roam-generations.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-462091/How-children...
- la64710 4y agoWith all sorts of criminals preying on neighborhoods to steal and rob and easy access to guns how can someone imagine the neighborhoods safe for kids?