A 4-year-old can run errands alone and not just on reality TV
I don&#x27;t have any kids, so I don&#x27;t really feel comfortable telling folks how to raise theirs.<p>But I will tell you my perspective.<p>As someone who grew up in the &quot;be back home in time for supper&quot; 1970s, today&#x27;s world seems completely foreign. When I started kindergarten, Mom walked me to school on the first day so that I&#x27;d know the route. And after that I walked to school on my own until I learned to ride a bike.<p>I rode to junior high, where there was parking for hundreds of bikes. Recently I drove by that school, and the bike racks were gone. This whole concept of waiting in traffic to pick up or drop off your kid wasn&#x27;t even a thing.<p>And I&#x27;m so supremely grateful that I was raised that way. I&#x27;m absolutely certain that early autonomy paid off later in life in countless ways.<p>I&#x27;d encourage you, if you&#x27;re raising kids, to consider the upsides of so-called &quot;free range&quot;. Or, as we called it in the 70s, &quot;being a regular kid&quot;.