IMO we are what we incentivize and right now we’re incentivizing a low-trust society which “requires” a nanny state to remediate thanks to the anxiety ##% of the populace feels thanks to the constant fear mongering used to induce FOMO. Nowadays you can’t convince anyone you’re a normal, capable human being without proof. What that proof is differs from person to person of course.

From the age of 6 I rode my bike to school by myself. Mum had work responsibilities and we lived rurally so there was no bus. The ride into town was along a main highway, on the grass siding, then when I got into town I’d just use the footpaths. Other parents at my school would often offer to drive me home because they were so worried.

That was in the 80s. Crazy to think back on, now.

My family and I lived in Switzerland for several years, and had a child there. We were shocked to find out that as early as kindergarten, it is REQUIRED that the children walk to school by themselves, to teach them independence. Completely different mindset.

I walked to Kindergarten on my own and it was definitely longer than 5 minutes.

But yeah, traffic plays a role. Sounds like kids these days are protected a lot more.

TBF a lot of them died. Humans can be bad at gauging danger. Pre telegraph a child dying is a freak accident and the people of the community would understand it as uncommon, but now that we can collect and transmit data to the extent that we are, we can see patterns about what is dangerous.

I still think there shouldn't be criminal liability for shit like "child walked into unfenced water".

I have four kids, eldest is 12 and youngest is a toddler. My three older ones, starting at age five, have free-run of our neighborhood--along with the host of other, similar aged children here. They're often out until the street light comes on. All the parents are in a group chat and we keep tabs on what's going on. Additionally, my 12 y/o rides the city bus home from middle school every day (along with a ton of his classmates) and it's not uncommon for us to allow our 10 y/o to ride the city bus with his friends to the mall like five miles away.

But this is Hawai'i. It's how things are here. Kids are given a lot more independence and we tend to have closer relationships with our neighbors (it also doesn't hurt that we live in a kind of tucked-away community). I used to live in Florida and none of this would have ever flown. Even when I lived on a private school campus (as a faculty member), there was a clear understanding that kids were not allowed outside without some form of supervision. We were gated in and had multiple security guards!

Its the Republicans and their fear mongering, almost every network tv has overflow of cop/crime shows. They think they're tough but whom is the real snowflakes in this country?

Parents are afraid someone will call the cops on the kid, and the cops will call the state, and now your kid could be taken away, or you (the parent) arrested.

In a gated community, with private security patrolling. That's probably safer than just being in the backyard unsupervised next to the woods.

I walked home from kindergarten. It was like 10 blocks. There were a few turns. And there was never any problem because of course there wasn't.

I wish this was just the US. Having to fight the teachers here in Hungary so my 8 year old can walk down the pedestrian mall we live on and cross one slow road with a crosswalk to walk to school by himself. They're dead set against it.

"because I'm right and everyone else is wrong!"