Kids Who Get Driven Everywhere Don't Know Where They're Going (2012)
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Re: Kids Who Get Driven Everywhere Don't Know Where They're Going (2012)
#2I grew up poor, and we had no vehicle, ever. We did a lot of walking. From age 10 or so, I was quite the explorer (didn't have great supervision, but I also grew up in a smallish city of around 30k, not a large city). I certainly am not the world's best navigator, but I feel like I can drop down in the middle of any city and get around pretty well.
Re: Kids Who Get Driven Everywhere Don't Know Where They're Going (2012)
#3I grew up poor, and we had no vehicle, ever. We did a lot of walking. From age 10 or so, I was quite the explorer (didn't have great supervision, but I also grew up in a smallish city of around 30k, not a large city). I certainly am not the world's best navigator, but I feel like I can drop down in the middle of any city and get around pretty well.
i grew up middle class and in a suburban type place. i can get driven around and not know where i am even a little bit.
Re: Kids Who Get Driven Everywhere Don't Know Where They're Going (2012)
#4This is true to an extent. But at the same time the argument is kind of flawed: can kids safely walk around their neighborhoods nowadays?
At least where I lived, the city was nice but there were too many cars and it was unusual to see anyone walking... nevertheless kids walking.
Re: Kids Who Get Driven Everywhere Don't Know Where They're Going (2012)
#5> In sum, as exposure to auto traffic volumes and speed decreases, a child’s sense of threat goes down, and his/her ability to establish a richer connection and appreciation for the community rises.
makes sense, intuitively. if you can go play and explore, the memories will reflect it. hide and seek, tag, capture the flag, scrimmages of hockey/basketball/football/soccer will take place. this is a fundamentally fertile area for a young brain to take intellectual nourishment from its environment.
Re: Kids Who Get Driven Everywhere Don't Know Where They're Going (2012)
#6I drive myself everywhere and still don't know where I'm going.
Re: Kids Who Get Driven Everywhere Don't Know Where They're Going (2012)
#7I drive myself everywhere and still don't know where I'm going.
i chuckled. do you use gps?
Re: Kids Who Get Driven Everywhere Don't Know Where They're Going (2012)
#8I grew up in Moscow, and my family used a private car to get around the city. I always knew where I was, because I figured one day my turn would come to navigate the roads on my own.
I’m raising my daughter in Manhattan, the least car-friendly place in the US. Until we ditched transit and began driving everywhere, she had no idea where we were or in which direction we were heading. Nowadays she makes suggestions from the back seat regarding which road is best and which stops we must make on the way.
That, my friends, is anecdata; but so is every citylab article. The world can’t be described by a naive generalization that, ironically, even a child can see through.
Re: Kids Who Get Driven Everywhere Don't Know Where They're Going (2012)
#9Re: Kids Who Get Driven Everywhere Don't Know Where They're Going (2012)
#10This is true to an extent. But at the same time the argument is kind of flawed: can kids safely walk around their neighborhoods nowadays? At least where I lived, the city was nice but there were too many cars and it was unusual to see anyone walking... nevertheless kids walking.
Not sure where you are in the world, but in most of the developed world things have never been safer. So, the answer to your questions is a resounding "yes". Yes, it's safe for kids to walk around their neighborhoods these days.