I live in a city without a subway. But as a child (approximately 8 I think) I would ride the bus into the city from the suburbs for swim training.
We lived on a mountain, the first time I walked to the top I was 6. My fellow hikers were 6 and 7.
To describe it as a different time is massive understatement. My own kids were teenagers before they walked to the corner store without an adult.
There is a perception that suburb living is more dangerous now. But I think perhaps the real issue us that as parents we were much more involved with the kids, which in turn made them less self-reliant. I would not gave dreamed of letting my young kids loose on the bus system, and I suspect they didn't have the upbringing to handle it.
My parents trusted us enough to "figure out our way home". And we did. (Notably well before phones obviously.) I'm not sure I was confident enough that my own kids would do likewise .
I do wonder if part of the decline in birthrates is due to a massive increase in the expected responsibility of parents. Back in the day parents basically just ensured their kids had food/shelter/stuff for school, but were otherwise unburdened.
Now its an expectation that parents are monitoring their kids 24/7 and driving them around to a range of activities all day.
> My own kids were teenagers before they walked to the corner store without an adult.
> Im not sure I was confident enough that my own kids would do likewise.
> But I think perhaps the real issue us that as parents we were much more involved with the kids, which in turn made them less self-reliant.
Sorry for taking your quotes a bit out of order. But I'm trying to put together an idea of how to raise my own kids, which are still under 5. I am absolutely trying to be a part of their life, but at the same time try and encourage self reliance in certain ways. Despite having a car to drive them everywhere, I try and make a lot of trips on public transit/walking/biking. I point out how to know what bus we're on. I point out how the train platforms work. I try and show them how to interact with the world. Do you think if you would have done things differently it would have led to the same outcome?
Not critiquing your own parenting style or whatever. Just trying to see if this is just something I should end up expecting or if it's something I might be able to do something differently.
Personally I'd love it if they managed to get to the library and home on their own at 13 by public transit. And to a certain extent I don't think that's a big expectation; it's a single bus transfer from a stop right outside our front door.
This is it. I live in the desert country where there are rattlesnakes, illegal smuggling gangs, crazy drivers -- much more dangerous than modern NYC -- but even young children are seen riding dirt bikes or quads all around because there are no government services here to snitch to, so the children can enjoy their lives without some smug social services leach deciding it for them.
bruce511|1 year ago
We lived on a mountain, the first time I walked to the top I was 6. My fellow hikers were 6 and 7.
To describe it as a different time is massive understatement. My own kids were teenagers before they walked to the corner store without an adult.
There is a perception that suburb living is more dangerous now. But I think perhaps the real issue us that as parents we were much more involved with the kids, which in turn made them less self-reliant. I would not gave dreamed of letting my young kids loose on the bus system, and I suspect they didn't have the upbringing to handle it.
My parents trusted us enough to "figure out our way home". And we did. (Notably well before phones obviously.) I'm not sure I was confident enough that my own kids would do likewise .
Gigachad|1 year ago
Now its an expectation that parents are monitoring their kids 24/7 and driving them around to a range of activities all day.
vel0city|1 year ago
> Im not sure I was confident enough that my own kids would do likewise.
> But I think perhaps the real issue us that as parents we were much more involved with the kids, which in turn made them less self-reliant.
Sorry for taking your quotes a bit out of order. But I'm trying to put together an idea of how to raise my own kids, which are still under 5. I am absolutely trying to be a part of their life, but at the same time try and encourage self reliance in certain ways. Despite having a car to drive them everywhere, I try and make a lot of trips on public transit/walking/biking. I point out how to know what bus we're on. I point out how the train platforms work. I try and show them how to interact with the world. Do you think if you would have done things differently it would have led to the same outcome?
Not critiquing your own parenting style or whatever. Just trying to see if this is just something I should end up expecting or if it's something I might be able to do something differently.
Personally I'd love it if they managed to get to the library and home on their own at 13 by public transit. And to a certain extent I don't think that's a big expectation; it's a single bus transfer from a stop right outside our front door.
ranger_danger|1 year ago
There was recently a story in the US about how a parent was arrested for letting their 11-year-old son walk down the street to a store by themselves.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/georgia-moms-arrest-puts-free-rang...
reaperducer|1 year ago
dr_kiszonka|1 year ago
ty6853|1 year ago