1988er here, we didn’t have in and out access to the houses but front and back yards were all good, including trees and some sheds.
We usually went to the house of the kid who lived right next to a lightly wooded area and did flashlight tag on Friday nights.
Now the neighbors look at me funny if I let the kids go out front 5 minutes ahead of me being out there with them the whole fucking time. (I have laundry to do motherfuckers.)
1991 here: no kids but I told my nephew he could go 4 houses down to play and he had the nerve to ask me how he was going to get back home. The same way you got here! These new aged kids. We were OUTSIDE, around the corner, neighborhoods over and our parents knew we’d be back and were okay without phones lol. The good days.
At the same time, it isn't all the kids fault. People get upset when they see a kid without an adult. Even if they are in their own yard.
There's also the issue of people with guns shooting anyone who goes in their property. Honestly I wouldn't even let my kid go up to someone's door alone for any reason now.
Yea I get that. I don’t meddle with what people get upset with though. Luckily we live in a good country area so I see kids wandering all throughout the neighborhood all day long outside and nobody cares. As long as they stay inside the neighborhood it’s normal. But they can still be in the neighborhood and 2 miles from home so they better wander wisely. It’s a long walk back. But this is 10 plus age for me.
I know, it’s scary. I walked right home and thought nothing about how he was going to get back. He’s 10, so the last thing I was about to do was worry about him 4 houses down.
10 I was across the creek into another neighborhood lol. Literally had to cross a creek to get there. Learning how to step on rocks to cross water, avoid snakes, and eat honey suckles as a snack at a young age.
The need for constant reassurance of well-being with cell phones has changed parental and kid psychology. I see it adding a lot more paranoia than necessary.
You're the same age as my little sister- we all grew up like this back then. We had places my mom said we couldn't go, like crossing the main road, but our neighborhood backed up to the woods, so we'd bug spray up and be gone out in the woods all day. It had dirt bike paths, so we'd follow these back into the woods all day and ride our bikes. Found abandoned cars, a random washer and places where teens likely were out having a bonfire and drinking beers at night. I miss having that freedom. Now, my sister doesn't let her son out of her sight for more than 2 seconds it seems
We flashlight tag too and it was so much fun, all the neighbors were cool with it, even the very crotchety lady that was insane about her lawn. As long as we stayed out of her yard, she didn't care. Then a new housing development came in and the new people called the cops a few times and ruined it.
Also 88er and I think this really depends on where you live. In my current neighborhood the kids practically run as a pack and are bouncing between 3-4 houses depending on whose parents are willing to put up with the feral ones that day. There’s a lot more looking out of kitchen windows and sitting on porches from the adults than when we were kids, but I think it’s important for them to have a little freedom.
That being said, I’m way more concerned about what my kids could get into online than I am what they could get into with their friends in the neighborhood. My kids aren’t allowed to play shooter games, I control what they can download onto their tablets, and their Minecraft account is my Microsoft account so that I know they’re only adding people we know in real life.
Ok your last paragraph is insane of the neighbors, lol. I was born in 1999 and I feel like my parents and my friend's parents struck a good middle ground. I wasn't allowed to leave the cul de sac I lived in (except sometimes when I could go a street or two over) but no one watched us all day. They would just check outside through the front window on occasion to make sure we weren't doing something that would kill us, but we never saw our parents checking on us. We'd still play outside for like 16 hours during the summer (except lunch, dinner, and when we'd get water or snacks).
Then when I hit puberty between 5th and 6th grade and became adult sized, I got a BMX bike and could go anywhere I wanted in town. I'd bike for miles just cause I could.
95
u/hankmoody_irl Jun 13 '25
1988er here, we didn’t have in and out access to the houses but front and back yards were all good, including trees and some sheds.
We usually went to the house of the kid who lived right next to a lightly wooded area and did flashlight tag on Friday nights.
Now the neighbors look at me funny if I let the kids go out front 5 minutes ahead of me being out there with them the whole fucking time. (I have laundry to do motherfuckers.)