Looking back, when did things change? When did we stop letting kids wander freely outside?

[Anonymous]

I think the shift happened when we stopped knowing our neighbors / living close to family.

I also think parents today have so little bandwidth leftover for actual parenting that we don't go outside with our kids, play with them, etc.

[Anonymous]

Not sure on year, but in addition to other factors mentioned...I think it's less common also because there are way more two parent WOH households. And after school activities/sports. I free roamed the neighborhood as an elementary schooler because my mom was always at home when my siblings and I got home from school and we (and almost all of the neighbors) were home all day during the summer. Now most kids (mine included) go to camp during the day and then have activities afterwards. A lot of kids go to after care and don't get home until 5, 5:30, 6. When are they supposed to be wandering freely?

[Anonymous]

I don't know what is exactly meant by wandering freely but I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s upper middle class Baltimore (Roland Park, Homeland and Ruxton for those of you in the know). We all rode bikes all over the neighborhoods, explored the trails in Lake Roland with our contraband beers and cigarettes, and wild parties in high school. All the private schools had party crowds. All in all had a pretty good amount of freedom as a middle and high schooler. We never went anywhere else in Baltimore.

Do agree kids were wilder back then. I never see kids sneaking contraband cigarettes anymore!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure on year, but in addition to other factors mentioned...I think it's less common also because there are way more two parent WOH households. And after school activities/sports. I free roamed the neighborhood as an elementary schooler because my mom was always at home when my siblings and I got home from school and we (and almost all of the neighbors) were home all day during the summer. Now most kids (mine included) go to camp during the day and then have activities afterwards. A lot of kids go to after care and don't get home until 5, 5:30, 6. When are they supposed to be wandering freely?

I was born in the mid-70s and both my parents were WOH. I was given a key and came home by myself, and then hung out with neighborhood kids until my parents came home from work around 6 pm. Agree that I saw a lot of nasty stuff I shouldn't have. One of my friends was sexually assaulted by an older boy, but none of us even recognized it as a problem, because we didn't know better.

[Anonymous]

I was born in ‘76, and always was only allowed out for 15 minutes at a time and could only go two houses to the left and two to the right of ours. That was until I was 11, then still only 15 minutes, but within our development.

[Anonymous]

I remember having toddlers in 1997 and all of my mom friends were obsessed with the trial.of Louise Woodward, the British nanny who shook a Massachusetts infant to death. To me that's the turning point where we started worrying excessively about our children's safety. We didn't really have internet then but we had CNN and the ability to suddenly hear instantly about every bad thing and every danger. Everyone started worrying about abductions etc. I think the Woodward trial was also an early case of televising a trial, and she seemed so sweet and innocent. It was a bit alarming

[Anonymous]

I wandered freely from 1977 to 1984.

[Anonymous]

Born in 1965. My parents always worked. I was latchkey from age 10, and when I lost the key (often) I just had to hang out until they got home to let me in.

I had a group of friends in the neighborhood and we went everywhere. We started fires, stole stuff, started our own religion and married each other off. Rainy days were spent seeing who would actually French kiss in Kathy Morgan's basement. You had to disengage mid-"kiss", tongue still poking out, to prove you did it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s regional too I think. I live in New England and kids have a lot of freedom, it’s pretty safe, you see packs of kids cruising around on bikes etc

+1 our kids can wander about 1 mile away as they enter 5th. 2nd graders freely wander the neighborhood. Under 2nd grade is unattended in the yard Also in NE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like growing up here, sometime around 1999/2000. I started to see less kids out alone and by the time I had my own kids, it was nearly unheard of to let your child hangout and ride their bikes around town. There were news stories about children free range in this area into the 2010s.


What year would you say things changed?

1981. 6 year old Adam Walsh was kidnapped from the toy department of a Sears store and murdered (beheaded). Things were never the same after that.

[Anonymous]

For me this happened in 1985 when a neighbor's child went missing. But the right to wander the neighborhood, or to walk to the bus stop, was lost to me until 1992.

[Anonymous]

When moms started all working, daycares exploded. Kids were no longer raised at homes. This happened after the 90’s. Two spouses worked to support the family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like growing up here, sometime around 1999/2000. I started to see less kids out alone and by the time I had my own kids, it was nearly unheard of to let your child hangout and ride their bikes around town. There were news stories about children free range in this area into the 2010s.


What year would you say things changed?

1981. 6 year old Adam Walsh was kidnapped from the toy department of a Sears store and murdered (beheaded). Things were never the same after that.

This. Also many of us out wandering at that time had two working parents, didn't go to aftercare, were being sexually molested, smoking early, and being wild when we were teenagers. Didn't want a lot of that to happen with our kids.

[Anonymous]

Let my kid ride her bike around the block at 4. She’s about to turn 20 this year. Proud free range parents.

[Anonymous]

This is still fairly common where I live (suburban neighborhood in CO). Lots of sahms and it’s a safe community, people leave their doors unlocked etc. I definitely think having 2 working parents changes the dynamic and people sign their kids up for so many activities now day to day activities are more structured