Eh, when I was 5, I was running around on the south side of Chicago, smokin’ joints and slingin’ dope with my 4 and 5 year old homies. Jacked a few cars (one kid pushed the pedals, another steered – hey, we were short!), kicked a few cans, whistled at the fine ladies strollin’ by. It was all good as long as I was home by dinner time.
My siblings and I were pretty unsupervised I guess.
When one of my younger sisters was 17 she hiked the Appalachian Trail by herself.
And I was basically completely out of the house by 16 traveling with the circus.
My mom used to go on long trips when she lived in Hawaii with one of my younger brothers and leave him at the house by himself. He was maybe 11 or 12 at the time. Any trip away from Hawaii is a really long trip.
It’s also not just parents that have gotten more paranoid about kids, and not just about crime.
At our gated condo complex in LA, our son would play with a few other kids around the grounds.
Several childless residents got very concerned that they would get hurt walking along the 4 to 7 foot high retaining walls, plus create a liability for the HOA.
The subway at 9! Wow, that is kind of amazing. But I was living in the boonies of Staten Island. I used to take the train on SI by myself at that age, though.
I was snortin’ glitter when I was three man… Teach your kids early about the dangers of glitter. They are never too young to get hooked.
😉
“Rob basically has us all beat hands down on the whole unsupervised plan thing. Like 1000 times over.”
Agreed.
Rob basically has us all beat hands down on the whole unsupervised plan thing. Like 1000 times over.
Snappy, I guess that’s what happens to kids who get caught up in the glitter scene.
Eh, when I was 5, I was running around on the south side of Chicago, smokin’ joints and slingin’ dope with my 4 and 5 year old homies. Jacked a few cars (one kid pushed the pedals, another steered – hey, we were short!), kicked a few cans, whistled at the fine ladies strollin’ by. It was all good as long as I was home by dinner time.
JUST KIDDING!
My siblings and I were pretty unsupervised I guess.
When one of my younger sisters was 17 she hiked the Appalachian Trail by herself.
And I was basically completely out of the house by 16 traveling with the circus.
My mom used to go on long trips when she lived in Hawaii with one of my younger brothers and leave him at the house by himself. He was maybe 11 or 12 at the time. Any trip away from Hawaii is a really long trip.
Looking back on it it kind of shocks me I guess.
It’s also not just parents that have gotten more paranoid about kids, and not just about crime.
At our gated condo complex in LA, our son would play with a few other kids around the grounds.
Several childless residents got very concerned that they would get hurt walking along the 4 to 7 foot high retaining walls, plus create a liability for the HOA.
I think that society has gotten more paranoid, and the social norms have changed because of that.
Crime is at an all time low, but many people are more scared of it than ever.
I try to give my son a reasonable amount of freedom and responsibility, but it is still less than I had at his age.
The subway at 9! Wow, that is kind of amazing. But I was living in the boonies of Staten Island. I used to take the train on SI by myself at that age, though.