Uh, if this person grew up in the 70’s, it was already way too late for running around unsupervised.
Disagree...no supervision from dawn to dark, then very little after dark...kids just weren’t afraid of the ‘boogie-man’...
We’d go visit the aunt who had a whole forest and river in her backyard and the parents would turn us loose.
I inherited this place and a friend was over with her kids. I inadvertently encouraged her/them to go outside and play in the woods.
The kids, both boys, were raring to go! Mom insisted we tag along to supervise...you never know who might be hiding in the woods....?! Or if one got hurt what level of ‘neglect’ would be leveled against her.
There is a book out called, “Last Child in the Woods.” Sure it is about another one of the phony maladies of our times...Nature Deficit Disorder. In a lot of ways though it is true. Our kids learn about their world from behind closed doors, multimedia, etc. Ask them if they know what lives in the creek behind their house and they wouldn’t know...they are not allowed to play there. They know about conservation from what someone else teaches them, not from their own observations of the natural order of things.
There in lies a special type of problem with that. Without time in the woods exploring, like we did when we were kids...they’ll believe any Albore that comes along....
No, were not afraid of the boogeyman, poison ivy, or scraped knees. We were told not to talk to strangers and held some of the responsibility for our own protection.
Exactly. I was a fifties kid; it really, really, was a different better world.
I grew up in Kemp Mill, a suburb that was a bedroom community for Washington, DC. We kids ran around a lot by ourselves - to the Nature Center, to Pine Lake, to the skating rink, up and down the street, in the woods - pretty much anywhere we wanted to go. We had to be home before dinner, but that was about it. With bikes and skates, we could cover a fair distance.
Then in the mid-70s, the Lyons sisters disappeared. It was huge news - all anyone talked about for weeks. They had gone to Wheaton Plaza together, and they never came home. I’m sure anyone my age who grew up in or near the DC area still remembers hearing so much about them.
For me and for many of my friends, that was the end of unsupervised rambles at will.
They never did find out what happened to those poor girls.
I guess it depends on where you grew up... I was born in 1962, so for me it was the later 60s and early 70s. And my mother was never worried about my leaving the house on a weekend morning, and not getting back until dark. Looking back on it now, maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to do, and if I were a parent, there's no way I'd allow that today.
Mark
Not for me....i stayed out fishing all night during the summer back in the 70’s...10 and 11 years old...no big deal....the 80’s is when it started changing.
Not at all. I grew up in the 70’s. We were out and about from morning ‘til evening.
I grew up in the 70’s, and ran around the neighborhood with my friends. We rode bikes, played ball, etc. Never had a serious incident. I am stunned how kids today just don’t want to get off the couch and go outside.
Sorry, I grew up in the 70s and this is exactly the life I lived. We weren’t even allowed in the house for the better part of the day! We were outside CONSTANTLY and no cell phone to keep in touch!
Sorry to pile on, but I grew up in the late 70’s, early 80’s in suburban Dallas, and we were never home afterschool until dark and out all day during the summers. We walked or rode bikes to the store or pizza place to play “asteroids”. Had secret forts in the “woods”.Our creeks we played in was on a golf course, but hey, it was still a creek to us! We knew not to talk to strangers, and if we were in trouble we always knew our neighbors would be home to help us..I think kids don’t play outside as much because they are too heavily scheduled with activities...