6 ms·

The description of "Swiss parenting" would also accurately describe most American parenting 60 years ago.

by PopAlongKid 2y ago

chrisco255 2y ago
Not even that long ago. The so called "latch key generation", or Gen X, lasted into the 80s.
- Aloisius 2y ago
  I suspect today's helicopter parenting culture is partly a reaction to all the 80s media sensationalizing the "horrors" of being a latchkey kid.
  - theGnuMe 2y ago
    Well the parents were more likely latch key kids themselves so that hypothesis does not make sense to me... Helicopter parenting is, I suspect, a fear driven phenomena to get kids into elite colleges. There is also a sports version of helicopter parents as well.
- bluefirebrand 2y ago
  I suspect that more Millennials grew up a similar way than people realize too I was routinely left to my own devices even as young as 8, me and my friends would be out roaming through empty lots and along beaches and stuff for hours in the late 90s Stuff really seemed to accelerate past that. Partly because the empty lots filled in, the park with a rope swing got replaced with a playground with seating for parents... Density does limit kids options too
  - eigenspace 2y ago
    Same situation for me in the early 00s, though I suspect that was more because my parents didn't have the bandwidth to helicopter parent me due to one sister being disabled, and the other being a psycho. I think the amount of independance I got would probably have been described as neglect if I had turned out poorly, and in my teenage years I really did flirt with a pretty bad path, but it turned out good so I remember it rather fondly.
  - wil421 2y ago
    Millennial here and I was outside everywhere. Walked to middle schools because it was close and biked to high school. My kids elementary school it’s about a mile away and I’ll bike with them a day or so a week.
  - freeone3000 2y ago
    Density should expand kids’ options. If everything is closer, it’s an easier walk! But the concept of having a park near your house is so foreign…
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
dave78 2y ago
Even less than that - I walked to elementary school by myself every day in the 1980s. For the busiest streets, 5th graders served as crossing guards for the younger kids, which something I also did. From what I can tell, the mentality of not allowing kids to get around on their own has really been in the past ~20 years or so. And (IMO) it is largely caused by some subset of people who freak out when they see kids alone unsupervised. Other parents (like me) would love to give our kids more freedom, but feel limited by the possibility that nosy neighbors will call child protective services if we allow too much.
- bombcar 2y ago
  The nosy neighbor is a big issue for those who even want to let kids have more freedom. You have to gauge the area/neighborhood and find out what's common - do you see ten year olds walking around? Twelve? Fifteen? And then you have to get to know the neighbors to reduce the risks, and then deal with all the other issues that may pop up.
  - dave78 2y ago
    Agreed. My 9 year old has finally started getting comfortable riding their bike around the neighborhood and going to the park by themselves. I had to convince them to do this, because they didn't think it was OK. Luckily there's some other kids the same age who also have started venturing out alone too so I didn't feel like I was the only parent doing it, otherwise I would have been more apprehensive about the nosy neighbor possibility. My kids don't walk to school (I get to sit in the maligned drop-off lane) because our school is unfortunately at the intersection of two very busy roads. I still think my kids could manage it, but literally not a single other kid walks to school so it feels like having my kids do so might draw too much unwanted attention. The school doesn't even have a bike rack, which is appalling to me. My memories of elementary and middle school were of many bike racks stuffed full each day.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- H1Supreme 2y ago
friend_and_foe 2y ago
60, try 20. Many of us millennials remember having a key to the house on a string around our necks. I walked to and from school with no adults since I was 6. I was out around the neighborhood from the moment school let out until the sun went down, by myself on my bicycle with all the other neighborhood kids. I was a teenager 20 years ago and I came and went as I pleased, no cell phone.
wil421 2y ago
Millennial here and I was outside everywhere. Walked to middle schools because it was close and biked to high school. My kids elementary school it’s about a mile away and I’ll bike with them a day or so a week. By the time I was 11 I was biking everywhere with big groups of kids. Or my buddy and I would go to the store and grab a drink or snack.
glimshe 2y ago
My teenager kid scoots a mile to high school (using a "manual" human-powered scooter, not electric/gas) back and forth under any weather, including severe rain, here in the US. He has walked to school since 5th grade.

The description of "Swiss parenting" would also accurately describe most American parenting 60 years ago.

chrisco255 2y ago

Not even that long ago. The so called "latch key generation", or Gen X, lasted into the 80s.

Aloisius 2y ago
I suspect today's helicopter parenting culture is partly a reaction to all the 80s media sensationalizing the "horrors" of being a latchkey kid.
- theGnuMe 2y ago
  Well the parents were more likely latch key kids themselves so that hypothesis does not make sense to me... Helicopter parenting is, I suspect, a fear driven phenomena to get kids into elite colleges. There is also a sports version of helicopter parents as well.
bluefirebrand 2y ago
I suspect that more Millennials grew up a similar way than people realize too I was routinely left to my own devices even as young as 8, me and my friends would be out roaming through empty lots and along beaches and stuff for hours in the late 90s Stuff really seemed to accelerate past that. Partly because the empty lots filled in, the park with a rope swing got replaced with a playground with seating for parents... Density does limit kids options too
- eigenspace 2y ago
  Same situation for me in the early 00s, though I suspect that was more because my parents didn't have the bandwidth to helicopter parent me due to one sister being disabled, and the other being a psycho. I think the amount of independance I got would probably have been described as neglect if I had turned out poorly, and in my teenage years I really did flirt with a pretty bad path, but it turned out good so I remember it rather fondly.
- wil421 2y ago
  Millennial here and I was outside everywhere. Walked to middle schools because it was close and biked to high school. My kids elementary school it’s about a mile away and I’ll bike with them a day or so a week.
- freeone3000 2y ago
  Density should expand kids’ options. If everything is closer, it’s an easier walk! But the concept of having a park near your house is so foreign…

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

dave78 2y ago

Even less than that - I walked to elementary school by myself every day in the 1980s. For the busiest streets, 5th graders served as crossing guards for the younger kids, which something I also did. From what I can tell, the mentality of not allowing kids to get around on their own has really been in the past ~20 years or so. And (IMO) it is largely caused by some subset of people who freak out when they see kids alone unsupervised. Other parents (like me) would love to give our kids more freedom, but feel limited by the possibility that nosy neighbors will call child protective services if we allow too much.

bombcar 2y ago
The nosy neighbor is a big issue for those who even want to let kids have more freedom. You have to gauge the area/neighborhood and find out what's common - do you see ten year olds walking around? Twelve? Fifteen? And then you have to get to know the neighbors to reduce the risks, and then deal with all the other issues that may pop up.
- dave78 2y ago
  Agreed. My 9 year old has finally started getting comfortable riding their bike around the neighborhood and going to the park by themselves. I had to convince them to do this, because they didn't think it was OK. Luckily there's some other kids the same age who also have started venturing out alone too so I didn't feel like I was the only parent doing it, otherwise I would have been more apprehensive about the nosy neighbor possibility. My kids don't walk to school (I get to sit in the maligned drop-off lane) because our school is unfortunately at the intersection of two very busy roads. I still think my kids could manage it, but literally not a single other kid walks to school so it feels like having my kids do so might draw too much unwanted attention. The school doesn't even have a bike rack, which is appalling to me. My memories of elementary and middle school were of many bike racks stuffed full each day.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
H1Supreme 2y ago

friend_and_foe 2y ago

60, try 20. Many of us millennials remember having a key to the house on a string around our necks. I walked to and from school with no adults since I was 6. I was out around the neighborhood from the moment school let out until the sun went down, by myself on my bicycle with all the other neighborhood kids. I was a teenager 20 years ago and I came and went as I pleased, no cell phone.

wil421 2y ago

Millennial here and I was outside everywhere. Walked to middle schools because it was close and biked to high school. My kids elementary school it’s about a mile away and I’ll bike with them a day or so a week. By the time I was 11 I was biking everywhere with big groups of kids. Or my buddy and I would go to the store and grab a drink or snack.

glimshe 2y ago

My teenager kid scoots a mile to high school (using a "manual" human-powered scooter, not electric/gas) back and forth under any weather, including severe rain, here in the US. He has walked to school since 5th grade.