The Mobility Of Youth
An article about how far kids are allowed to roam from home has been making the internet rounds over the last week:
When George Thomas was eight he walked everywhere.It was 1926 and his parents were unable to afford the fare for a tram, let alone the cost of a bike and he regularly walked six miles to his favourite fishing haunt without adult supervision.
Fast forward to 2007 and Mr Thomas’s eight-year-old great-grandson Edward enjoys none of that freedom.
The article, based around a family and town in England, notes how each generation was allowed less and less freedom to roam about the neighborhood. There’s talk of children’s mental health being at risk due to this closeness and lack of contact with nature but there’s not much look into why these changes have happened. Security, television, transportation, localized entertainment, any number of explanations could be studied to see why this trend has occurred. It’s still interesting to note, sure, but it should only be the start.
