I think I started walking alone to school/bus stops middle of both grade 1 or 2 (Moved cities, so the parents walked with me a few days the first week to acclimatize me and allow them to know the path I would take to and from school).
However, I don't think I was allowed to stray from school to home path (or baby sitter) until Jr High. If going to a friend's place, I had to go home first, drop off my bag to signify I had been home/leave a note w/ friend name, (+address and phone number if it's one they had not heard of before), before making my way to the friend's place. Again, I could not stray from path of home to friend's place and vice versa.
This however was in an era pre-cell phone, where perhaps a text message or phone call to pinpoint where exactly I was and/or wouldn't panic if they couldn't find me right away or if I didn't show up 1 hour+ after where I was supposed to be. I think I forgot to drop off my stuff once after school, went to the neighbors' place and my parents wandered the path between home and school for 45 minutes. They then went home, called around and discovered I was only 30 feet away playing video games... 2 hours after I was supposed to have returned home.
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