I remember doing all of this as a child too. Unfortunately for me I almost became a statistic when as a 12 year old boy I was assaulted by a group of 21 year old men who thought I had flipped them off. I woke up in the hospital a few days later and found out I had such a severe concussion that I was moments away from surgery to open my skull to relieve the pressure. The doctors’ claim after the fact was that I was pretty lucky (to be alive).
My parents were pretty protective after that - I didn’t get to play hockey for a year, I was pulled out of phys ed several times (I did get beaned in the head shortly after this incident and ended up home bawling and puking from the migraine I developed as a result). To this day I suffer from migraines and it is 40 plus years later.
I don’t blame my parents for being protective after that incident - I’m pretty sure that was a normal response. They did gradually let me have more freedom and things were pretty normal for me after the first 6 months or so, but I was definitely more paranoid and aware of my surroundings afterward also.
In the end, there is a risk/reward choice all parents have to make about this, which is dynamic and based on several factors.
I should have also included that I think the big difference back then was that just about everyone's mom was at home in those days. At very least there were lots of moms and seniors around and they were keeping in eye out. Also, one neighborhood I lived in had at least 50 kids between the age of 5-16ish that were always outside, so safety in numbers was huge.
In 4th grade, I was jumped and my nose broken while walking home alone from school. The kid was disciplined and I was walking to school the next day. Today, the special little snowflake would be patted on the head.
There's a lot of truth to the old saying, "a conservative is a liberal who's been mugged." I know my several muggings/home invasions in adulthood changed my point of view — from fiscal conservative to fiscal/social conservative.
I don’t blame my parents for being protective after that incident - I’m pretty sure that was a normal response.... there is a risk/reward choice all parents have to make about this, which is dynamic and based on several factors.
Even though my brother and I were allowed to roam around freely in the neighborhood, the woods and park and creek and up to the shopping center, when my brother applied for an errand-boy job at a small shop run by one man, my father went with him to the interview. Guess ol' Dad knew about perverts preying on children even then.