Are Free Range Children Extinct?
I remember years ago when I first heard of the Izzy Skenazy subway incident on Penn and Teller's show "Bull Shit" my first thought was utter bemusement. At nine years old Izzy was hardly an incapable child and it struck me then that most kids around that age should have the capability to find their way home via public transit systems. Yet as time has progressed it seems that children are only losing habitat, not gaining it. While we are all concerned about the shrinking territories of wild animals we seem oblivious to the almost extinct roaming territory of children.
Looking around my neighborhood these days I see precious few kids of any age out and about despite a growing population of young families moving into the area. Those children and teens I do see are invariably accompanied closely by chaperones. I cannot even remember the last time I saw a teenager do anything more significant than walking home from the bus stop unsupervised.
Had someone told the fourteen year old me that the roaming play of children would all but vanish in my lifetime I would have thought they were probably right. I know you were expecting me to say the opposite but even then I clearly saw an absence of kids my age and younger out in public. However if you had asked my parents the same question at fourteen they almost certainly would have balked at the idea. My dad tells countless stories of his roaming adventures around his neighborhood, including the gory details of the times he made mistakes and was injured. Each injury, each failure, was a lesson learned and important to his growth and maturation. Similarly my mother is full of stories of her youthful activities playing outdoors with the neighbors and ranging all across her neighborhood.
Yet by the time I was growing up that kind of freedom was already vanishing. To an extent television and the growing video game industry played a role, providing a ready outlet for youthful attention without ever having to leave the house. But video games and television cannot fully account for the virtual disappearance of outdoor play. I think the greater responsibility falls on the paranoia of parents. Not that fears are unjustified. There are countless examples of children being abducted, murdered, not to mention injury or death resulting from accidents. I am hardly a proponent of irresponsible or neglectful parenting. That said my own childhood was a gradual growth of responsibility leading to adulthood, my range of territory I was permitted to wander in slowly increased over time as my age, maturity and capability allowed.
When I was just a few years old I was really only allowed to play within the boundary of our backyard fence and only with parental supervision. A few years later I was allowed to play inside the fence without direct and constant supervision. Sometimes my brother and I would get to play in the open park area outside our fence with a parent in tow. A few years after that we were slowly allowed short and then progressively longer play sessions outside the fence by ourselves. At this time I was maybe nine. We were nevertheless expected to stay within sight of the house and in the view of our parents through the windows.
Over the next few years my wandering and play perimeter exploded. I got my first bicycle and was permitted to ride it around the block, then the neighborhood, then beyond. Over the next few years as I went through middle school and into high school I learned to ride my bike down the hill from the condo development where we lived around another neighborhood and some shops. From there I worked my way around to add another neighborhood and a nearby 7-11 to the territory I was allowed to roam. Before the bicycle I had occasionally taken walks to the convenience store with a parent and every once-and-a-while alone with my brother where we could spend some of our saved allowance on snacks or Pokemon Cards. With my bicycle I was finally able to travel further than the 7-11 which had for years marked the farthest extent of where I could reasonably reach on foot. For the first time my tires sailed across the road and into the park beyond where I could at last ride trails that were mostly flat instead of the constant hills around my family's apartment. Several times a week I would take a ride down to the park and roam the paths through the trees, passing picnicking families and groups of kids of varying ages. At least the park seemed to be one place where kids still had some freedom of movement.
Ultimately my bike allowed me to pass through the park and several more neighborhoods to reach a distant friend's house where we would meet up to play and hang out. At this point I was ranging miles from my home and would take an hour or more to get back even on bike. From the ever watchful stages of my early childhood through to my teens where I had the freedom to cross the county my parents slowly allowed me greater trust, greater freedom and a greater roaming range from my home with each passing season. I had to prove my ability to stay within the set boundaries, return by set curfews, and notify them of all movements. I learned to manage my time, navigate my surroundings, be responsible for my own behavior and become confident in my own capabilities. Learning, growth and exploration were all key elements of outdoor play when I was growing up and certainly a critical component of who I am today.
As I look around the neighborhood as another cycle of young families move in to replace the old, bringing with them new young children there is something I do not see. I do not see the neighborhood packs roaming the public spaces and playing kick ball or tag. I do not see the bikes circling the blocks, I do not see kids walking dogs or going for a run. I know the families and children are there, but outside small numbers of heavily supervised walks and play sessions I rarely see evidence of kids out playing and adventuring as I did, as my parents did, as my grandparents most certainly did. I cannot help but wonder what the children of today are losing by becoming more isolated and enclosed, trapped within the safe boundaries of the home with very limited access to open outdoor play. In the desire to protect children I worry that they are being smothered, prevented from coming into their own and exploring their capabilities and limitations. I have even heard of some schools removing recess time completely. Only time will tell what will come of the extinction of free roam children but somehow I cannot imagine it being very good.
Looking around my neighborhood these days I see precious few kids of any age out and about despite a growing population of young families moving into the area. Those children and teens I do see are invariably accompanied closely by chaperones. I cannot even remember the last time I saw a teenager do anything more significant than walking home from the bus stop unsupervised.
Had someone told the fourteen year old me that the roaming play of children would all but vanish in my lifetime I would have thought they were probably right. I know you were expecting me to say the opposite but even then I clearly saw an absence of kids my age and younger out in public. However if you had asked my parents the same question at fourteen they almost certainly would have balked at the idea. My dad tells countless stories of his roaming adventures around his neighborhood, including the gory details of the times he made mistakes and was injured. Each injury, each failure, was a lesson learned and important to his growth and maturation. Similarly my mother is full of stories of her youthful activities playing outdoors with the neighbors and ranging all across her neighborhood.Yet by the time I was growing up that kind of freedom was already vanishing. To an extent television and the growing video game industry played a role, providing a ready outlet for youthful attention without ever having to leave the house. But video games and television cannot fully account for the virtual disappearance of outdoor play. I think the greater responsibility falls on the paranoia of parents. Not that fears are unjustified. There are countless examples of children being abducted, murdered, not to mention injury or death resulting from accidents. I am hardly a proponent of irresponsible or neglectful parenting. That said my own childhood was a gradual growth of responsibility leading to adulthood, my range of territory I was permitted to wander in slowly increased over time as my age, maturity and capability allowed.
When I was just a few years old I was really only allowed to play within the boundary of our backyard fence and only with parental supervision. A few years later I was allowed to play inside the fence without direct and constant supervision. Sometimes my brother and I would get to play in the open park area outside our fence with a parent in tow. A few years after that we were slowly allowed short and then progressively longer play sessions outside the fence by ourselves. At this time I was maybe nine. We were nevertheless expected to stay within sight of the house and in the view of our parents through the windows.
Over the next few years my wandering and play perimeter exploded. I got my first bicycle and was permitted to ride it around the block, then the neighborhood, then beyond. Over the next few years as I went through middle school and into high school I learned to ride my bike down the hill from the condo development where we lived around another neighborhood and some shops. From there I worked my way around to add another neighborhood and a nearby 7-11 to the territory I was allowed to roam. Before the bicycle I had occasionally taken walks to the convenience store with a parent and every once-and-a-while alone with my brother where we could spend some of our saved allowance on snacks or Pokemon Cards. With my bicycle I was finally able to travel further than the 7-11 which had for years marked the farthest extent of where I could reasonably reach on foot. For the first time my tires sailed across the road and into the park beyond where I could at last ride trails that were mostly flat instead of the constant hills around my family's apartment. Several times a week I would take a ride down to the park and roam the paths through the trees, passing picnicking families and groups of kids of varying ages. At least the park seemed to be one place where kids still had some freedom of movement.
Ultimately my bike allowed me to pass through the park and several more neighborhoods to reach a distant friend's house where we would meet up to play and hang out. At this point I was ranging miles from my home and would take an hour or more to get back even on bike. From the ever watchful stages of my early childhood through to my teens where I had the freedom to cross the county my parents slowly allowed me greater trust, greater freedom and a greater roaming range from my home with each passing season. I had to prove my ability to stay within the set boundaries, return by set curfews, and notify them of all movements. I learned to manage my time, navigate my surroundings, be responsible for my own behavior and become confident in my own capabilities. Learning, growth and exploration were all key elements of outdoor play when I was growing up and certainly a critical component of who I am today.
As I look around the neighborhood as another cycle of young families move in to replace the old, bringing with them new young children there is something I do not see. I do not see the neighborhood packs roaming the public spaces and playing kick ball or tag. I do not see the bikes circling the blocks, I do not see kids walking dogs or going for a run. I know the families and children are there, but outside small numbers of heavily supervised walks and play sessions I rarely see evidence of kids out playing and adventuring as I did, as my parents did, as my grandparents most certainly did. I cannot help but wonder what the children of today are losing by becoming more isolated and enclosed, trapped within the safe boundaries of the home with very limited access to open outdoor play. In the desire to protect children I worry that they are being smothered, prevented from coming into their own and exploring their capabilities and limitations. I have even heard of some schools removing recess time completely. Only time will tell what will come of the extinction of free roam children but somehow I cannot imagine it being very good.
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