Monday, May 19, 2008

Free Range Kids

Free Range Kids

As they get older, I'd like to give the kids more freedom. I feel that the risk of kidnapping is far outweighed by the psychological risks of being insulated and overprotected. But when community norms are such that letting kids do things on their own is an oddity, it's harder. I couldn't send C to the grocery store on his own without risking the cashier asking where his parents are, putting him in an awkward spot. The public library explicitly prohibits children under 12 from being left unattended. Some of the intersections near our house are not safe. And maybe because unsupervised kids are a rarity now, he would be a more likely target for a criminal?

I'm glad to live in a town that has amenities which permit more freedom to kids and teens than Clifton Park did- sidewalks, access to a bus line, streetlights. And I do see middle school aged kids doing things on their own- biking to friends', going to the coffee shop. But I wish we were a little bit closer to the time when Ramona Quimby had free reign of the neighborhood by the age of four.

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