You wrote: But it should be. I was allowed to be on my own lots of time (from about 4 on), because I was well behaved, and could be trusted to come back.
It should be, but it just isn't. I was obedient, I was allowed out on my own, the run of the neighborhood, even taking our bikes downtown to the Dairy Queen.
That was the 50's and 60's. Things are not the same today. Sad, but true.
>>It should be, but it just isn't.
Yeah, it's not, but it should be.
My kids all go to school on the first day thinking everyone in the world loves them. Sadly that's as far as my protection can extend for that emotion, even in a private school (which is killing me financially) the other children quickly make groups of us vs. them.
I will still stop and get after some child whose parent is not minding them, and they are doing something obviously wrong. (I’ve had a few absentee parents be a mite upset about that. My reply usually is “Would you rather I kidnapped them? You were here neither to teach nor protect them”)