I was walking around the block unsupervised when I was three and a half years old. I walked to school on my own beginning in kindergarten. But this was in the days when my home state of California had a Republican governor and two Republican Senators, and both Los Angeles and San Francisco had Republican mayors. In other words, a different galaxy.
I too, walked back and forth to school
When my sons were 10 and 12 I let them and 2 friends ride their horses to the top of a mountain to spend the night.
I’m a mother and I did worry a little it was before cell phones but I taught them how to take care of themselves.
When i was 4, my mom would send me down our block with a quarter and a note: “Please send blu home with a pack of Salems. Thank you, Mrs. Blu’s Mom”. And they would do it. This was pre 1960. Those were the days, my friends!