[throw20102010]

“with only a primitive GPS to indicate the right direction”

... so these kids are more at risk of being kidnapped than they are of getting lost.

I’ll admit that I think it’s a bit weird to make kids walk home in the night, but the author does a terrible job of making it sound suspenseful. This activity has gotten a lot safer since GPS became widespread. I kind of feel bad for anyone that went through this in the 80’s, they might have actually gotten lost and had to knock on a farmer’s door for directions.

[hondadriver]

Kids being kidnapped is not the first thought of Dutch (and Belgium?) parents.

Example: We were at the Zoo with friends from the US and one of their small kids was out of sight for minute at the very large playground.

My first thought: Will show up, but is there any water nearby? Their thought: he's kidnapped!

(kid did show up few seconds later)

I guess you're far more likely to drown than to get kidnapped in The Netherlands... (Most children learn to swim before they are 6 years old here)

Droppings were really cool by the way and in the eighties when I grew up we only got a compass or nothing at all (no gps or cell phone). I was no boy scout, it also happens at school trips and birthdays.

[wpietri]

I just got back from visiting a friend in Amsterdam, and it was a delight to see how much everybody just assumed kids would be safe on their own.

I'm pretty sure the US had the same attitude when I was growing up; I know I spent the bulk of my summer days roving the neighborhood. It's weird to me how much that has changed. Especially given that kids can be constantly tracked and contacted via cellphones, you'd think that they'd be roving farther!

[Scarblac]

Current Scout leader here.

In the 80s we were sent out to knock on farmer's doors to ask for a place to sleep, and we did it just over the German border so we had to ask in a foreign language too. I actually want to reintroduce that (but farms have fewer places fit for a few sleeping bags).

The fact they are in groups makes it super safe anyway.

[em-bee]

a group from germany did that on a regular basis. all the trips were by bike. for weekend trips the whole group would stay on a farm. for holidays it was two weeks into the netherlands or denmark. groups of 3 would walk door to door to ask for a place to sleep.

i then adopted the idea for trips on my own travelling through europe. but instead of knocking on any door i'd search for local scout groups and ask them.

[merijnv]

> ... so these kids are more at risk of being kidnapped than they are of getting lost.

Keep in mind that they're 12+ and travelling in groups of 10 to 20 kids. Kidnapping a group that big is...not easy :)