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Comment by eddaross | Hacker News Reader

When kids grow up with parents hovering over them all the time, they miss out on those classic childhood adventures — like riding bikes with friends or exploring the neighborhood till the streetlights come on. When I was a kid, if my bike chain fell off or I needed help with homework, I had to figure it out on my own or ask a friend for help. Now, most kids I know speed-dial Mom or Dad for instant rescue, so no wonder they will be not ready for real life as adults.

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On the other hand, mom and dad on speed dial means camping trip, kayak hike, and a lot more freedom to explore if you are enclined to. I did stuff around 2008-2012 my father couldn't do without an experienced adult in his group at the same age.

Granted, it was mostly kayaking/roaming in Eastern Europe (and he was the same age between 87-91, so yeah, geopolitical stuff did not help)

As a parent we are constantly worried about road safety, I feel like the roads are more dangerous than when I was playing street hockey in the streets back in the 80s. Honestly, I've noticed EV drivers are typically driving over the speed limit.

EV drivers skew young/employed. Retired people drive slow. The young/busy? Speed,

Unclear how to recreate that for the next generation. Taking away cell phones isn’t likely. More camping trips? Explicit trust extended to go dark?

Fundamentally, why wouldn't cell phones ENABLE more wandering? You can call help a lot more easily with them. That's the crazy thing. They have built-in tracking as well.

Of course we now know that pervasive access vector has been enshittified by Google/Apple and the associated social media mafias to assault children's minds with the unrestrained/unregulated full arsenal of the advertising psychological manipulation playbook.

Parents are simply regressing/withdrawing from the sheer assault of unyeilding economic stress/disruption, negative news floods, information intrusion, dual incomes, etc. That passes on to the kids.

Just let them go explore.

Make sure they can contact you in case of emergencies, make sure they know your address/phone number, and wave goodbye.

(Obviously if you live near poisonous/venomous things then warn them about that, and set some boundaries.)

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