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How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

freerangekids.com

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Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#261

Post by temp2093745 »

When I grew up in Berlin in the 90s I was not really given restrictions on how far I could roam. I just had to leave a note or give a call if I wanted to stay out beyond a certain time.

I remember being given keys to the apartment being a big deal since it meant freedom to me, less hassle for my parents - since they didn't have to fetch me from school or kindergarden every day - and they did a lot of emphasizing that I should never ever forget or lose them somewhere.

And that was in a big city. Now I live in a bit more rural area where many kids cycle several kilometers to school every day and I also see them on bikeways during school vacations, so it seems like most parents here are fine with letting them roam.

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#262

Post by Groxx »

jackmott wrote: post #211
manmal wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Crime is not the problem, traffic is. I grew up in a blind alley, and the whole town was really low in traffic. I started cruising around with my bike together with the neighbors at age 7, and we met a car every 10 minutes, tops. They slowed down to a stop, mostly, when they saw us. Fast forward, we are living in a city of 30k citizens now, though on the outskirts; there is a major road about 200m away, and although…

more cars bigger cars faster cars cars in a hurry because they live 1 hour from work and hate life

Also more soundproof cars. You can't hear kids playing two feet away in modern vehicles if the windows are up.

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#263

Post by WildGreenLeave »

m_mueller wrote: post #22
FrancoDiaz wrote: post #10

I have a 4 year old, in my mid 40s, and think about this a lot for some reason. In the 70s during the summer, when I was around 7, we would wake up, eat breakfast, go out and about wherever we wanted, come back for lunch, out again, come back for dinner, and then out again past dark to play flashlight tag. I think I would be charged with child endangerment these days if my kid (3 years in the future) was doing stuff…

As a Swiss with a small child, this is the main reason why I couldn't move to the US or UK. Your 70ies examples are still common enough in Switzerland. 6 year olds are sent to Kindergarden on their own (after a bit of training with their parents). Put the visibility triangle on and off you go. Parents are discouraged by the school authorities to bring by car. Today looking back at this I can see the value. Maybe it h…

As a Dutch guy visiting Switzerland regularly for skiing and just regular recreational purposes, I was surprised how many young children are getting on the bus for the slopes without a parent. Seeing a young child sitting/skiing/snowboarding on their own wasn't anything unusual.

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#264

Post by vkou »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #174
pharrlax wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is one of the biggest reasons it was refreshing as hell to move to the big city, as paradoxical as that sounds. Rural/suburban life is like living in a barren wasteland marked by occasional oases you have to travel between in a metal spaceship. Living in an area where commuting to work and activities by foot is completely normal feels like rediscovering a lost sense of communal society, and there's a relief and…

>Rural >barren wasteland If you're a glass half empty person. Many people see it as freedom to do close to whatever you want without anyone caring.

I can assure you, your suburban HOA is extremely caring about what you do. Heaven forbid you change the colour of your curtains.

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#265

Post by solipsism »

cel1ne wrote: post #240
Kluny wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Media is part of it, but the other part is this, taken from the first comment on the linked article: "I can’t help but notice how many freeways and roads are between Sheffield and Rother Valley. We can’t blame parents alone for the loss of childhood freedom. Since 1919 We have purposely designed our cities to maximize vehicle throughput and require car ownership and the result is an environment that is lethal for 8 y…

I see your point, but don't you think it's possible to teach children to cross traffic safely? When I was little, I regularly walked 3 or 4 miles to visit friends. I had to cross at least one "big" road on my way, where I just took extra care, because my parents had reminded me to.

Never has a thread been more full of survivorship bias. If you had juggled chainsaws as a kid and survived it wouldn't be any more relevant.

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#266

Post by vkou »

JammyDodger wrote: post #225
jpatokal wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no evil corporation stopping you from dropping out of the rat race and moving to a farm to live life off the grid. What's stopping you from doing this and living the life you appear to desire? There is also no evil corporation ordering people to give up subsistence farming and move to cities. Why do people, all around the world, still do it?

Probably financial reasons due to an increased of cost living.

The cost of living a subsistence lifestyle is very low. Land in the middle of nowhere is cheap, and property taxes are almost non-existant, you don't need to pay 25% of the turnips you grow to the state as an income tax, and gasoline is very cheap in the US.

There's that whole big-corporation medical care business, but if you're willing to forego it, the dream can be yours - for much less then the cost of a small suburban home.

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#267

Post by SteveNuts »

vkou wrote: post #264
dsfyu404ed wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Rural >barren wasteland If you're a glass half empty person. Many people see it as freedom to do close to whatever you want without anyone caring.

I can assure you, your suburban HOA is extremely caring about what you do. Heaven forbid you change the colour of your curtains.

Think past the suburbs...

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#268

Post by E6300 »

mverwijs wrote: post #252
witty_username wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Corporations don't force it on you. People voluntarily use that. Corporations provide those things because people want them.

Advertisements target your lizard brain. That bypasses your rational thinking. It is not a fair fight and not merely "just say 'no'".

That just sounds like a way to dodge responsibility.

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#269

Post by SomeCallMeTim »

pharrlax wrote: post #155
freehunter wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After reading the parent I was about to say "I'm almost 30 and I barely feel safe wandering alone". Not just crossing major roads (I live downtown in my little city, but I have to cross a major road to get to any shops, which puts a big damper on my walking) but just one person walking down the road, by themselves? It's almost a scandal. And if I'm biking around town, especially not dressed in spandex like a bicyclis…

This is one of the biggest reasons it was refreshing as hell to move to the big city, as paradoxical as that sounds. Rural/suburban life is like living in a barren wasteland marked by occasional oases you have to travel between in a metal spaceship. Living in an area where commuting to work and activities by foot is completely normal feels like rediscovering a lost sense of communal society, and there's a relief and…

I live in a small suburban city and I can walk to:

* The library (5 minutes)

* A supermarket (8 minutes)

* A dozen restaurants (7-15 minutes; mostly local restaurants + 2 fast food chains)

* Two liquor stores

* A drug store (12 minutes)

* A coworking space (15 minutes)

* Several antique stores (12-15 minutes)

* (Almost forgot) Walmart (10 minutes)

* Two barbers (8-12 minutes)

* At least three major bus lines

And if I get on a bike, I can go across the entire town in 20 minutes, which puts me in range of more supermarkets, a local game store, a Gamestop, a bowling alley, at least two dozen more restaurants, and tons more.

There are places to live in my town that I would be stuck driving (or at least biking) everywhere. But I chose a place near the downtown area, and I can walk to tons of places. And I do.

Not fond of big cities. My kids can wander around my neighborhood or walk to the park, and we don't worry at all. Granted it's not six miles to the park. Six miles in any direction and you've left the small city I live in. But we're trying to resist the helicopter parenting style.

That said, I think there's another thing that's missing from this discussion: People are having fewer kids. Sometimes they have a single kid. So it's natural when all your eggs are in one basket to be a bit more paranoid about that basket.

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#270

Post by E6300 »

solipsism wrote: post #265
cel1ne wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see your point, but don't you think it's possible to teach children to cross traffic safely? When I was little, I regularly walked 3 or 4 miles to visit friends. I had to cross at least one "big" road on my way, where I just took extra care, because my parents had reminded me to.

Never has a thread been more full of survivorship bias. If you had juggled chainsaws as a kid and survived it wouldn't be any more relevant.

So what you're saying is that most adults never crossed any major roads as children and most children that have crossed major roads didn't grow up to be adults? I know traffic statistics are depressing, but surely they can't be that bad.
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