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this post was submitted on 02 Apr 2026
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Parenting
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All kids used to be free range.
Ask anyone born circa 1960.
Pretty much everyone of them will have a 'Stand By Me' type story about travelling alone as a grade school kid.
Parents used to buy postage and literally mail their kids across the country.
And people didn't think that was weird.
Kids are allowed to fly without an adult today.
Compared to the conditions in the trains, it wasn't that bad.
Also, the longest distance was about 700 miles, not really cross country.
https://postalmuseum.si.edu/very-special-deliveries
In 1913, 700 miles was practically across the country. That was further away than most adults traveled from their birth town in their lives.
Not really. The transcontinental railroad had been around for over fifty years.
Cars were already pretty popular. There were already about 5 million of them out there.
Ocean liners and tourism was available.
The St. Louis Worlds Fair of 1904 got 20 million visitors.