There's no doubt parents in general are far more anxious and controlling about their kids than they were in the past. The thing is, even if you recognize that, it can be difficult to defy social norms. We started letting our kids go alone to the playground in the nearby schoolyard last summer, when they had just turned 8. Every time they came back they said an adult asked them where their parents were.
We've started letting our kids walk alone to houses of nearby friends to see if they want to play. But I've had friends who've done the same at this age tell me parents have escorted their kids back home afterwards, and made some judgemental comment.
Everyone has their own approach to raising kids these days, so as a parent you can't make any assumptions. Raising kids the way we were raised - with the freedom to roam around and play unsupervised - is definitely not the norm. If you even just advocate for letting kids play, remark to another parent how safe it really is, it can be taken as a judgement of the other parents' approach. People get very tetchy about this stuff.
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Originally Posted by fotze
If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
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