Free-range kids

We let our 9 year old walk home from school unsupervised when she has a playdate with a friend and doesn't want to go with her 6 year old brother. But there are no main roads and the walk is probably 1/3 of a mile. I don't think that there is anything wrong with that.

 

What's insane is the activities. It is required that we stay at practices unless we work out an agreement with the coaches. I probably watched over 100 hours of 7 and 8-year-olds practicing football in each of the last two years. I doubt either of my parents logged 10 minutes watching me practice during the 10 years I played.

 

Yeah, that's nuts. It was pretty rare for my parents to stick around for practices. They never missed a game, but practice was their time to get shit done.

 

I generally go to my kids practices, but mostly because I coach, or in those sports where I don't coach, feel guilty not seeing them enough during the week. I don't think my mom ever attended a game which I played, much less a practice -- she went to grad school or tutored at night and it just wasn't expected.

When I superivse playdates, even with my 6 year old, I pretty much don't do anything except for make food/snacks and deal with any arguments. I pretty much do chores, work or work out. Mrs. W. tends to be more of a hoverer.

 

Hover over 6 year olds while they play?

 

It's definitely off the wall that a bunch of guys with little kids who dominate their lives would want to occasionally talk about it.

 

That's the appalling part to me. CPS is called, they have to check, but when everything was cleared up, back the fuck up and leave this family alone.

 

Not at all. I enjoy hearing about it.

 

That has to be a liability thing, right? So that a kid can't accuse a coach of something later.

 

Reason No. 9,468,341 why Maryland is the worst place on Earth.

 

Things are different than when I was a

There's less crime overall and less violent crime in particular than when I was a kid.

 

"Free-range kids." Used to just be called "kids."