Otherwise they wouldn't have let me go to and from school, by myself, until I was in seventh grade, the current "appropriate" age according to this poll. Whereas I was walking there on my own … well, from the first grade (possibly kindergarten, though we did live across the street from the school at that time).
Never mind that crime rates keep dropping (http://www.freerangekids.com/crime-statistics/); public perception remains that crime rates are high and climbing, so the only way to prevent kids from being hurt is for them to be constantly tethered to their mother or father (never mind that 60% of children under 5 are killed by one parent or the other, vs. 3% by strangers).
Reshared post from +Kee Hinckley
#t
Poll: Most Americans Want to Criminalize Pre-Teens Playing Unsupervised
“I doubt there has ever been a human culture, anywhere, anytime, that underestimates children’s abilities more than we North Americans do today.”
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Augh! This frustrates me to no end. My kids (8 and 10) are allowed to roam over our development to friends' houses but not to cross any public streets– it's a rural area, if there were sidewalks / crosswalks or at least better visibility, I would let them. It's not like the dangers have appreciably increased since the 70s/80s.
When I was in 5th grade like my older child, I was biking across town to spend the entire day at the public pool with no parents anywhere. What are these kids going to do when they get to high school and don't know how to cross the street unaided?
+Mary M. Cooper The main rule we operated under was making sure Mom knew where we were going to be or were. We had pretty free rein in our immediate neighborhood, and, as I said, I was walking to school unescorted (and the only major street with a crossing guard) by first grade. In 7th grade, I was biking (or, occasionally, walking) to junior high, along some pretty major streets.
My daughter didn't free range quite that much — in part because school for her has always been about busses. But she did visit friends around here, ride her bike around, and eventually (when 10 or 11, probably) went down to the local park on her own.
Similar rules for me… I was trusted to be where I said I would. If I failed to show up at home when I was expected, and hadn't called, (I had pay phone money!) I was in big, big trouble... Hmm, some memorable long periods of being grounded in 7th – 8th grade! 🙂
You may wish to clarify/reword that final sentence- I doubt 60% of children are killed by a parent! Maybe 60%of murdered children!
I grew up in North London (Enfield to be precise) – we moved when I was 9. I would cycle miles on my own, even on busy dual carriage way- the A10.