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

Forum Index » General Parenting Discussion

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

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=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.  [/quote]

All of these developments disgust me.[/quote]

You’re a disgusting misogynist. [/quote]

But they aren’t incorrect. The ability of children to roam freely was partially dependent on the fact that communities were communities. People knew each other, socialized and helped each other. This community was largely built and maintained by women. Even in the latchkey families there was the knowledge that there were other people around in whom they could depend. When more women started working that community was weakened. If I fell off my bike a mile from my house, I could go to Mrs. jones who would clean me up and call my mom. When the bus didn’t show, there was a mom or dad going by who would have all the kids pile in and drive them to school. When we walked to school the older kids looked out for the younger. One of the biggest losses is the cross gender/age play that we had. You add in a bit of hysteria, new laws about kids being supervised, competition and no one home, you get what we have now. The kids aren’t ok. The parents aren’t ok. [/quote]

I know several people who were either molested or sexually assaulted as free range kids, most in these "cross gender/age play" situations. They all lived in close "communities" and knew their abusers. I've never met anyone who was abused by a stranger. I know it happens, but it's rare. Stop romanticizing this. [/quote]

Unless you keep your kids in your house with just you there is always a risk. Daycare providers, priests, pastors, scout leaders, uncles, aunts, teachers. It’s horrible but there’s no way around the risk it unless you want to live in total seclusion. Teach your kids about good and bad touching and how to say no. IMO the empathy and leadership skills that older kids learned in looking after the younger was very valuable. The younger kids also both learned a lot from the older ones and were able to learn about indépendence in their company. Kids also learned that boys and girls can compete and be friends. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics