Sometimes I wish I could give my kids a more old-fashioned upbringing. It would be so good for them, but our society works against it. I can’t give them a really close extended family, because most of their family members live far away. I can’t give them a traditional neighborhood with built-in friends, because that’s not the kind of place we live. I can’t give them nearly as much unstructured playtime as I had as a child, because school hours don’t allow for that.
But I can at least let them play outside by themselves when they have free time. It feels almost neglectful to leave them out there on their own. By modern standards, it sort of is, though of course I can’t help but check on them from time to time. You wouldn’t believe the looks some other parents have given me when I said that I left my kids alone outside.
People think the outside world is unsafe, but it’s not. It’s life. It’s learning. It’s growing up. Unless you want your children clinging to your leg for the rest of your life, you have to let them loose. I would call myself a failure as a parent if I didn’t give them at least this much.