State lawmakers are mulling a law that would establish commonsense protections for families that give their children a reasonable amount of independence.
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.
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.