I really wish we could go back to the 50s when people knew each other and looked after others
Even in the 60’s and 70’s we had neighbors we could count on.
I was a Latchkey kid during that time. Free range would be an understatement.
At some point in the mid to later 1970’s as I hit my teens I relied less and less on the neighbors and my friends parents as they were working more and more. There was a time when we would walk into each others homes like we lived there. And were welcomed.
There is really something empowering for a young kid to be left to their own devises. Left to figure things out on their own.
We were fearless, but we knew who to stay away from and why.
We developed our own instincts.
Ditto !
We don’t need to go back to the ‘50’s. Being in forced contact with your neighbors in fact only makes abusive situations more likely. If there was a system in place for this kid to be able to communicate with the parents in the case of an emergency that would be fine but it doesn’t sound like the parents were operating in accord with a very workable or responsible plan.