I don’t believe in “free range” children. My children were closely supervised. That was just one unique incident where I was around the corner watching. He just did not see me for a second.
I met one of these free range mothers at a dinner party one time. What a true wacko! She sent her young daughter to play in an alley out back, populated by homeless men and thought she was so cool. I about took her head off.
Posting links does not mean i support all or any of what the site also believes, but i did have a list of the state laws relevant to the issue. And the age obviously is the major factor, and there is a balance btwn helicopter parents and teaching siblings to watch over the younger ones, and to be self-sufficient. Back in colonial days, they was more discipline as well as learning to be self-sufficient (in dependence upon God), and i think by age 13 they were probably out hunting by themselves, and overall matured in mind much quicker than kids today. Large families helped. Though the average age of the signers of the Declaration of Independence was 44, more than a dozen of them were 35 or younger.