The last days of summer....

I have had this conversation with so many people here but especially with our friends who also moved across the pond this last year.
Remember when you were a kid and you got to a certain age and you would tell your mom you were going to go play and she said okay but remember to check in? You would be out and about in the neighborhood and playing for the rest of the day. There were no playdates. No schedules. No coordinating. No mommies right behind you. You just knocked on the door and if they were home asked if they could play. If they weren't home you went to your next friend's house until you had collected enough. Then with a few friends gathered you would head off and play in forts, ride bikes, swim, play tag etc. It was kid freedom. What happened to that? Statistically, the States are safer now than we were then. There is less crime. When did we become so fearful that we can't allow our kids to play without a parent standing right over them? When did it become irresponsible and socially unacceptable to let them play like this? Not that I don't appreciate the opportunity to socialize with other mom's while we watch our kids but we have lost something in the States. Or at least the kids have lost something. Here in Sweden kids can still be kids. They play without being managed by adults but rather by self management. They don't have to be driven places. They don't roll from one activity to courtesy of mom's taxi. They roll there with bikes, scooters and the likes on their own volition. Their autonomy is building them into adults who are independent. Becuase I believe it allows them to make choices. Likely both good and bad but their own choices regardless. In these last few weeks of summer I have seen my kids become responsible for managing their own schedules while still respecting the boundaries set for them. I wish that I could bring a little of this home with me. Maybe it is all just nostalgia for when I was a kid but I don't think so, becuase I know my kids have grown from this tremendously. I know they will miss it as well.