At least they learned how to cross the street safely at a young age. That's the one bit of independence that stuck.
This is what my grandparents did to my mom and aunts and uncles when they were growing up during the 60s and 70s. They weren't allowed back inside before dinner, but they had to return by sunset.
They were used to it, and spent their time playing in the woods and playing games with the neighborhood kids.
Nowadays, if you kicked them outside the house, they'd probably just have each other to play with, because kids don't play outside as much.
I suppose it's a Nietzsche thing; the "Death of God" turns us into "The Last Man".
They aren't worried about the child. Anyone with a typical five year old knows they'll be able to cross the neighbourhood just fine.
What they are actually worried about what other adults will think the five year old is seen out alone.
That they aren't worried about the child is just an irrational statement. If there was nothing to worry about, then there's no reason to keep the kid cooped up out of public sight.
Yeah, it’s nonsensical, but such is people. Similar to why most people aren’t having children in their sexual prime, instead waiting until they are of geriatric age. The harsh reality is that society says it’s wrong to have children “young” and ostracizes anyone who does. Just ask any teenage mother about the scorn they had to deal with.
Thousands of years ago most people didn't have time to sit around and evaluate what other people do. Only the richest kings could even begin to live in that kind of luxury. And even up until around the 1950s, most people lived rurally, so the kids weren't apt to leave the property anyway – and if they did, who was going to see it?
Not to mention that there wasn't the "You must go to university or you will ruin your life" nonsense that has emerged in the past ~30 years. Hell, in my grandparents time, it was uncommon to even go to high school. Back then, having children was celebrated, not featured on MTV with a show that tries to convince people to not have children.
Let's face it, we've collectively come to hate children, and as a result people are reluctant to have them.
Thousands of years ago, people CERTAINLY had to the time to sit around and evaluate other people. You think everyone was running around in a field with a spear? They'd plant crops, do chores, and then sit around and do fuck-all, especially when it got hot in the afternoon hours.
Stop defending childish, modern idiocy. The times haven't changed at all. The people have changed. They've become cowards.
Found the busybody.
Parents these days aren't rational at all. They worry about protecting the physical nature of the child and leave their development and ability to accurately assess risk on their own as an afterthought. That's how you perpetuate failure: with children who grow up while never possessing the life experience necessary to properly raise kids of their own. The world simply isn't that fucking scary.