Giving kids no autonomy at all has become a parenting norm
Part of this simply has to do with nosy busy-bodies ready to pounce on the phone to call Child Protective Services (or equivalent) whenever they see a child out and about on their own. I&#x27;m not afraid to send my kids to the park (few blocks down the street) alone, ride their bikes alone or instruct them to go outside after breakfast on the weekend on not come back before lunch, or hell even dinner (not that it matters for socializing--I see hardly any kids their age, pre-teens, outside, even though there are plenty around). I <i>am</i> afraid of what my neighbors would do.<p>The other part is that, unless one lives in the country, it has become much harder to find neighborhoods where kids can safely roam free. I lived in both a small rural town and a larger, more urban (but not &quot;big city&quot;) city as a child, and was able to run around the neighborhood in both places without issue, back in the 80s. I&#x27;ve visited the larger city I spent the second half of my childhood in as a child recently: there simply isn&#x27;t any <i>space</i> for kids to roam anymore there. Some might say my generation&#x27;s parents were too extreme in the freedom they gave us. Perhaps, but the pendulum has swung too wide in the other direction, in my opinion.