Right, this articles makes it appear as if Japan was the outlier but the truth is that the US is.  I grew up in a mid-size town in Germany and all children went to school on their own starting from age 6.  We spent the whole day playing outside roaming the city and surrounding forests and our parents did not care at all.  It was completely normal.  A year ago I moved to California and my wife and I were shocked to see how paranoid American parents are.  We live in a perfectly calm and peaceful residential neighborhood but never see children play on the streets or in the park around the corner.  Some people do not even allow their children to play in the garden because of germs and &quot;dangerous&quot; animals and whatnot.