I'd recommend the youtube channel "Not Just Bikes", a guy who moved from Canada to the Netherlands. It's perfectly normal over there to do everything you said is unrealistic.
Imagine not having to chaperone your kids around until they're old enough to drive. In much of the US, this is unthinkable, and it takes a large mental toll on parents, but in the Netherlands, it's not uncommon for elementary schoolers to bike to and from school, friends houses, even riding public transit on their own.
In much of the US, your kids can be taken by social services for this, even if it was perfectly safe for them to do so. And even if it's legal to let your kids be fairly independent, it doesn't matter when you have to fight to get them back (very much "you can beat the rap but you can't beat the ride").
It's depressing just how far we've fallen under the guise of "protect the children".