But I'm convinced that the threat from "predators" is minimal, yet I still find it really hard to let my kids just go out and play. Luckily both myself and next door have decent sized gardens, so they get to run around outside all they want. But it's not the same as when I used to go out on my bike all day and not return home till I was hungry.
And yet, today, kids can have a cell phone and call from any location around - possibly even be monitored with a tracking signal as to their whereabouts. The ability to know where a kid is down to the meter is within almost everyone's reach, and yet we're more scared about letting kids go out and wander around.
Going out as a kid in the 70s and 80s, I usually had to tell someone what friend's house I'd be at, and was given times (either 'dinner' or '8pm' usually) to be home at, but usually had pretty free reign. I normally stayed within a mile or so of the house, but there were plenty of places to go - small arcades, shops, friends, school playgrounds, etc. My parents had no way of knowing if I was at place X, Y or Z, unless I called home. No cell phones, sms, etc. But we managed just fine.
But I'm convinced that the threat from "predators" is minimal, yet I still find it really hard to let my kids just go out and play. Luckily both myself and next door have decent sized gardens, so they get to run around outside all they want. But it's not the same as when I used to go out on my bike all day and not return home till I was hungry.