Go back and re-read. Not everyone follows the rules.
"But with who?"
Friends within a couple miles, siblings, etc.
"You have to be intentional for this to be possible in rural areas. Not even "safe", just literally possible."
Yes, tell me my life experiences. Now stop trolling. It is literally possible and people do bike and walk places miles away. Don't believe me? Go look at the Amish.
Which may or may not exist. Again, you have to be more intentional.
I am not trolling you. I am giving the parent reasonable advice. Calm down.
Parents in cities have been arrested for letting their 10 year old kids play in the public manicured park unsupervised. Google "Free Range Parenting" as a city thing.
There is no way to compare the independence and freedom to play and roam of a country kid with a city kid.
We moved to the country precisely because we felt is would have been ludicrously dangerous to let our 8 year old wander the streets of Philadelphia unsupervised. There was no chance in hell we would allow her to hop on an Amtrek to go hunting for frogs in some creek.
Okay. I googled it. I'm seeing articles about parents being arrested for this sort of thing in places like Blairsville, Georgia (pop. 526) and Killingly, Connecticut. Not exactly massive cities...
If cities arrested kids for waling or biking or being on the subway alone, no one would be able to make it to school in the morning.
https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/13/living/feat-maryland-free-ran...
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2018/09/05/mom...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/01/16/...
Here is a counter arguments against your school point:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/single-dad-barred-from-sending...
> hunting supervised
So not independent. At all.
> fishing, riding their bike places, exploring or "hanging out" in the woods, building things, working with power tools, etc.
For a ten year old, all of those things can be done in a city FAR, FAR easier in a city than in a rural area. Even exploring the woods, in many cities, can be done by a ten year old with a commuter rail train pass and a bike.
The crucial question when you are in a rural area is: with who?
> riding their bike places
You have to be intentional for this to be possible in rural areas. Not even "safe", just literally possible.
Again, it's totally possible. But if you are not intentional, your kids will not, by default, be able to bike to their friend's place or a common middle ground. If they have to bike ten miles to meet up with a friend, they're going to end up connected to a car and spending most of their time online.