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Anyone know when this all changed? At the age of 5 I used to walk to school alone without me or my parents worrying. That would have been about 1958/9.

bryanlarsen 1y ago
It was a fairly continuous change since WW2, I think. https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/v8cyi7/map_comparing_four_generations_of_kids_how_far/ https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/v8cyi7/map_compar...
- amanaplanacanal 1y ago
  My theory is that it has something to do with infant mortality and family size. Kids are seen as more precious now, so they are protected from every possible danger. This is probably quite negative for the kids though.
  - bryanlarsen 1y ago
    I can't imagine hardening myself enough to be able to accept a 10% - 50% chance of losing a child before the age of 5.
colechristensen 1y ago
It became a thing with advertisements and the evening news prompting parents "Do you know where your children are?" from the late 60s to the 90s. It became the mission of television news and similar to make parents afraid because fear gets attention so horror stories about abducted and abused children were everywhere which resulted in the current situation in America. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_you_know_where_your_children_are%3F https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_you_know_where_your_childre...
lm28469 1y ago
Depends on the country, I was in eastern europe over winter and there were kids sledging by themselves between buildings, on the local hill, &c. some weren't much older than 5. That was in the second largest city of the country, not some small village where people know everyone.
cameldrv 1y ago
I started walking to school at age 7 in the mid 80s. Granted it was only three blocks and there was a crossing guard for the busy street. At my kids school there’s a crossing guard too, but you hardly ever see a kid crossing without their parent. Maybe a 6th grader.

bryanlarsen 1y ago

It was a fairly continuous change since WW2, I think. https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/v8cyi7/map_comparing_four_generations_of_kids_how_far/ https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/v8cyi7/map_compar...

amanaplanacanal 1y ago
My theory is that it has something to do with infant mortality and family size. Kids are seen as more precious now, so they are protected from every possible danger. This is probably quite negative for the kids though.
- bryanlarsen 1y ago
  I can't imagine hardening myself enough to be able to accept a 10% - 50% chance of losing a child before the age of 5.

colechristensen 1y ago

It became a thing with advertisements and the evening news prompting parents "Do you know where your children are?" from the late 60s to the 90s. It became the mission of television news and similar to make parents afraid because fear gets attention so horror stories about abducted and abused children were everywhere which resulted in the current situation in America. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_you_know_where_your_children_are%3F https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_you_know_where_your_childre...

lm28469 1y ago

Depends on the country, I was in eastern europe over winter and there were kids sledging by themselves between buildings, on the local hill, &c. some weren't much older than 5. That was in the second largest city of the country, not some small village where people know everyone.

cameldrv 1y ago

I started walking to school at age 7 in the mid 80s. Granted it was only three blocks and there was a crossing guard for the busy street. At my kids school there’s a crossing guard too, but you hardly ever see a kid crossing without their parent. Maybe a 6th grader.