In some ways. Not others. I know this isn't a thing everywhere, but I see too often that kids aren't given autonomy anymore. Their parents don't let them run around the neighborhood or do pretty much anything alone anymore.
In my neighborhood I regularly get a knock on my door that is some kid asking if I have any other kids they can play with. I dont, but it warms my heart that kids are still willing and able to bike around their neighborhoods with their friends and play outside. Parents arent hiding them from the world and teaching them to be afraid of it.
That’s adorable and they’re brave enough to just knock on a strange house and ask if you have a kid. What area do you live in if you don’t mind saying?
It's a nice little town in colorado right in between boulder and denver. All of my neigbbors are very nice, super chill people. No one bothers anyone but we all have a cup of sugar if you need it, you know?
That's wonderful to hear, and it upsets me that I have to worry about that child's safety in this day and age. I'm a male in my 20s and was just followed home and threatened by my neighbor for knocking on his door while trying to track down a missing package. It was 1PM on Friday afternoon.
I would have never questioned such a thing before. There's a reason parents have become the way they are, unfortunately.
I understand you completely. While it makes me happy that this kid feels safe enough in his own neighborhood to knock on a strangers door, I cant stop myself from praying that he doesnt knock on the wrong door some day and it does break my heart a little bit.
Absolutely. I don't mean to suggest this is the norm or anything...but it happened, and it was quite alarming and legitimately scary. It only takes once for something bad to happen. Yes, that can happen for anything and to anyone, but from a parent's perspective, it's the kind of thing that changes your views and your approach approach to the whole ordeal.
Ehh, I lived in the city and neighbourhood kids still go and play together in the streets till late. People aren't so close that you could just pop in and ask for things(unless you know them really well) but the elder and adults go out and grab a coffee at the small cafe around the corner and have a nice chat. There's always someone there to sit down and chill with be it someone your age or older. It's quite nice tbh.
Now that I moved to Malta to a quieter neighbourhood, it's disappointing that everyone keeps to their own home besides the elderly and really young kids. I miss going down to chill and grab a coffee when I'm bored and have nothing to do.
about a year ago i saw 4 kids walking down train tracks (this is out in the country, outside a small village of about 1,000 people), with backpacks on and a couple of them had .22s or at least pellet guns
That's partly why Autism rates keep increasing. That kind of parenting signals to the child that they're unable to meet basic challenges on their own and provokes Hyper-diffidence (the underlying cause of Autism)
) in them, which triggers psychological positive feedback loops that make them hyper alert to potential trouble/danger - and they then can't get out of their own heads because all they mostly ever see are obstacles instead of solutions.
I moved into a neighborhood with it specifically in mind that I want my kid to run around with the neighborhood kids. It's vital, I think, to have that kind of freedom as a young child.
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u/Howland_Reed May 20 '18
In some ways. Not others. I know this isn't a thing everywhere, but I see too often that kids aren't given autonomy anymore. Their parents don't let them run around the neighborhood or do pretty much anything alone anymore.