To think that children are babied too much these days

[BlueMirror]

I think it's really sad that many children aren't allowed the independence I had when I was younger. We live on a very quiet road and while some primary age children are allowed to play outside and climb the trees in the field opposite many aren't.
I also know of 18/19 yr olds who live at home and are basically treated like young teens with their parents calling them by the minutes to check on them, restricting where they can go/who they can see. They are adults!
Aibu to think that if you aren't even allowed out of the door by yourself until you're 11 then you're not going to be fully independent by age 18 and that adolescence now seems to extend into the 20's for many young people?
Supervised 'play dates' for 10+ year olds now seem to be a thing going by threads on here! What happened to going and knocking on your friends doors and seeing who could come out?
For comparison it was normal when I was younger to walk yourself to school age 7 and children played outside from much younger. By the time you hit your teens you were expected to be responsible and behave as an adult with all the freedoms that go with that. Aibu to think that kids are generally overprotected these days?

I just think of the case off April Jones, 5 year old girl playing on her bike outside her house (in her mums sight) with her friends. Mum walked away, came back, April was gone. She had been kidnapped by a man waiting in his car for the mum to walk away. She was kidnapped and murdered. You just don't know who's lurking round the corner

From the .gov.uk site:

Child victims 2016

As in previous years, the majority of victims aged under 16 were acquainted with the principal suspect (63%, 24 offences), and in all but 2 of these cases they were killed by a parent or step-parent

Proportionally few homicides of those aged under 16 were committed by strangers. The victim was known to have been killed by a stranger in 4 offences in the year ending March 2016 (11%). This number has varied between 1 and 9 victims in each year over the last decade.

Most kids who are killed are killed by their parents. You don't know who's lurking inside your house.

"Most kids who are killed are killed by their parents. You don't know who's lurking inside your house."

The overwhelming vast majority of us do know who's lurking inside our house.

I don't think the Tracey Connollys and Jennie Grays of this world have any relevance to a thread about the choices normal parents make to protect their children.

Let's picture an 8 year old walking to school. Say she's walked to school every day for the last 3 years. And nothing has gone wrong.

That's down to nothing going wrong, not how equipped she is to deal with situations.

Yep ! Agree op !
Freeloaders the lot of em ! ... send em out to work ! x

Both of mine are able to deal with friendship issues. I don't know anyone who supervises play after age 5 or 6. Yes, they go to each others house, but they go upstairs or in another room. Most arguments seem to happen at school anyway, just as they did when I was young.

OP, as you say, you live in a quiet area with a field opposite. Many of us don't. I think if there was a field opposite with other kids playing out then mine would. As it happens, we live on a busy road. One family let's their children play put and tbh I think they are neglectful. Busy road, no shoes on etc.

What is the issue with not wearing shoes?

Dog shit, broken glass, dirt. It's obvious really. Do you often walk around without shoes on in the street? If so, you are in the minority.

No not in the street. But I remember as a kid taking off my shoes and playing in the grass without them on.

My dad as a teenager apparently sued to walk about without shoes on as it was a "thing" then.

Ah, I see. No the kids I am talking about are out on our grubby London street without shoes. It's hardly child abuse but it does stand out, along with them letting their 5 year old out to roam the streets.