State lawmakers are mulling a law that would establish commonsense protections for families that give their children a reasonable amount of independence.
In the 70s, every kid in the he area knew every other kid. The mother’s all knew each other or at least had phone numbers. Weekends and summers we would go play all day, sometimes in 1 house. The whole neighborhood looked out for all of us. If a mother needed to find a kid, just start calling the list of mothers. Regardless,when the streetlights came on, that was the signal to go home.
No one questioned it. That’s the way it was. We would play football in the streets and move aside for cars. We would drink from the garden hose. Every kid played… There was even one kid missing a leg who used a fake limb, we let him at football with the rest of us (granted he played line), but he was one of us.
I grew up in the 90’s and it was mostly the same. Leave home at like 9am to just go start knocking on friends doors to see who was available. Get a group together for some tag or ballgame if the weather was good, stay inside and play with toys if the weather was bad. Rule was to call home by 5 so my mom would know if she should prepare dinner for us or not.
Our rule with my semi-feral kids was that they had to be home once the streetlights came on. If they couldn’t see streetlights, before dark.
We lived in a town of 10,000 next to a large nature reserve, so the only things to worry about were mountain lions and people. As long as the kids were in groups, neither was a significant risk, especially the mountain lions, which generally avoid humans. In 15 years living in that place, I only saw one twice, when I was sitting quietly, far up a mountain. As for the people, the kids were distrustful of strange adults and there were few places along the narrow streets where cars could be driven fast.
And, despite all the tutting from a few neurotic neighbors, the kids all survived and are now self-sufficient adults.
In the 70s, every kid in the he area knew every other kid. The mother’s all knew each other or at least had phone numbers. Weekends and summers we would go play all day, sometimes in 1 house. The whole neighborhood looked out for all of us. If a mother needed to find a kid, just start calling the list of mothers. Regardless,when the streetlights came on, that was the signal to go home.
No one questioned it. That’s the way it was. We would play football in the streets and move aside for cars. We would drink from the garden hose. Every kid played… There was even one kid missing a leg who used a fake limb, we let him at football with the rest of us (granted he played line), but he was one of us.
Miss those days
I grew up in the 90’s and it was mostly the same. Leave home at like 9am to just go start knocking on friends doors to see who was available. Get a group together for some tag or ballgame if the weather was good, stay inside and play with toys if the weather was bad. Rule was to call home by 5 so my mom would know if she should prepare dinner for us or not.
Our rule with my semi-feral kids was that they had to be home once the streetlights came on. If they couldn’t see streetlights, before dark.
We lived in a town of 10,000 next to a large nature reserve, so the only things to worry about were mountain lions and people. As long as the kids were in groups, neither was a significant risk, especially the mountain lions, which generally avoid humans. In 15 years living in that place, I only saw one twice, when I was sitting quietly, far up a mountain. As for the people, the kids were distrustful of strange adults and there were few places along the narrow streets where cars could be driven fast.
And, despite all the tutting from a few neurotic neighbors, the kids all survived and are now self-sufficient adults.
Hey. That’s the way it is where i live in Norway.
Just depends on where you live
Same. We were out all day, no one knew where we were. No cell phones. Go home by dark for supper.