From the perspective of the child, it's much worse. You are basically arrested until you are 16-18. No independence whatsoever. Want to meet a friend? Ask your parents to drive. They're busy? Too bad.
Social norms also vary widely, first graders in Tokyo take public transportation to school alone. This isn’t inherently unsafe or unreasonable.
Sorry if the question is naive, I don't live in USA.
Building around roads results in everything being pushed farther away and that includes other people’s homes too.
Do kids attending the same school really live that far apart? Seems like a very long distance, especially in a suburbian neighbourhood.
Typically, those old suburbs were originally built around train stations or street car lines, which influenced their design. The newer ones were designed around access by car and zoning prevents any non residential land uses nearby.