There is probably a whole book on the subject but I think society has lost some of the ability to look out for others, when I was young if you were hurt or too far from home you could always rely on a neighbour to help and would have no issue in knocking on their door, even the old single guys.
The other side of the argument now is the fear of interacting with somebody elses child as and adult, last year I came across a small girl(5/6) who had fallen and grazed her leg and there was nobody else around, I was really deliberate about not touching her in case parent or guardian came around the corner. I felt horrible about it but thats the way things are I guess.
I agree with this wholeheartedly, but unfortunately the most likely thing to kill them are the cars that are everywhere they might go. My kids are too young for this to be applicable right now, but someday I hope to give them this kind of independence, but I don't know how to do it with the sheer volume of traffic and terrible drivers. I even don't feel safe biking myself.
I'm perfectly happy letting them take risks where they might break bones, but I just don't know how to deal with a world where they're reasonably likely to get killed if they're on the street with a bike.
I know the feeling. I was walking my son home from school in downtown Boston and we approached a street corner where two young girls (looked like Grades K and 3) were sitting on the ground. I did go through the mental process of asking myself it was OK to talk to them because my son was with me and then (most importantly) thinking about what I'd want a friendly stranger to do if it was my kid there.
As it turns out, they were dropped off by their school bus, but there was a miscommunication between mom and dad about who was to handle pickup. Fortunately the older one knew dad's phone number. He ignored my call, but immediately called when I followed up with a text to explain the situation.
You do have to be very careful, though. As a coach of youth sports, a common task for the very young kids is to help them tie things. I'll do shoes, but mom or dad have to help with your shorts.
My life was similar. Be home by dark and stay in the neighborhood. Aside from that, it was explorations in the woods, roaming around, and generally just making fun where I found it.
I now have an 11 year old, and we recently put up a basketball hoop. A side effect is that we've started to attract some neighborhood kids. When it's a first time visitor, I do like to query to make sure it's ok that they're out and about, and I've received a refreshing number of "Yeah, I just have to be home by 6" responses. Occasionally, my son will join a small group and "go on an adventure" and I remind him to stay in the neighborhood, and be home by dinner.
Yes, it's a bit nerve-wracking at first, and I'm sure there's a non-zero risk of something happening, but watching my son thrive and the pride he has at having some independence is immeasurable. As parents, I think we forget that our task is not merely to get our kids safely to a certain age, but it's also to enable them to operate in the real world as independent, fully functional humans.