A 4-year-old can run errands alone and not just on reality TV

Re:A 4-year-old can run errands alone and not just on realit... by kkielhofner on Wednesday April 20, 2022 @07:55PM (#31104562)

This is one of favorites too!

I was recently chatting with a friend who (like me) grew up in the 90s and they were reminiscing on how great walking to school was because “you could do that back in the day.” They then went on to say that they would NEVER allow that for their children “these days”.

I pulled up the Pew study and it blew their minds. That said the news cycle, perception, parental instinct, etc is too powerful and fear (however irrational) is extremely powerful. After the initial shock they thoughtfully considered it and essentially said “Well, whatever. The kids are still never going to just walk around outside.”

Those kids are never going to be out “in the wild” even though it’s substantially safer today than it was in the 90s when we were doing it.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:A 4-year-old can run errands alone and not just on realit... by godelski on Thursday April 21, 2022 @12:15AM (#31105988)

It is an interesting response to me (without kids) because I think this doesn't give kids the chance to explore. Kids SHOULD be doing dangerous things, just not TOO dangerous. That's how I learned a lot of valuable lessons. It is also how you learn independence.

[ Parent | on HN ]