>>>>>>>When I was 12, I was getting paid to babysit for other people's kids.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Tamar
>>>>>>
>>>>>>That was then, this is now. I agree with you about how it was when I was 12, but today? Not on your life.
>>>>>
>>>>>I don't actually think the world is a lot more dangerous than it was. I think we're much more aware of what's going on everywhere, instead of just where we live. The Internet and 24-hour news has made us much more fearful.
>>>>>
>>>>>Tamar
>>>>
>>>>Well, I don't know how things are in your part of the world, but when I was a kid, there were more parks to play pick-up ball in, more playgrounds to play basketball in etc. I look around now, and I wonder where kids have to go to do the things we did. Mostly what I see when I look around is parking lots and malls.
>>>>
>>>>When I was a kid, we didn't go to the park and be accosted by guys twice our age selling crack either.
>>>>
>>>>I can't answer for Elkins Park, but Toronto has changed dramatically since I was a kid.
>>>
>>>Well, as I just said to Jay, I live now 10 minutes from where I grew up. There are actually more parks in Elkins Park than in the Philadelphia neighborhood I lived in. OTOH, we played in the schoolyard and in the neighborhood yards. I spent hours in the public library that was up the street. Even as an grade school kid, I used to stop in the drugstore across the street from school after school to get candy or a popsicle or a comic book.
>>>
>>>In my house, the rule was really simple. You could wander around as much as you wanted (though I don't remember how young I was when that started), but when Mom rang her cow bell, you'd better here it and come home.
>>
>>Not that different from when I was a kid. We went off on our own (usually with a bunch of friends), but when mom called, we came home. I still say things are different today than in my idyllic youth.
>
>Definitely so. My mom was on the overprotective side but my brothers and I still had the run of the whole city from age 11 or 12. It had a population of 35,000 - 40,000, no Toronto or Philly, but still a good sized place that had its rough parts. During the summer I was gone all day except a quick pop-in for lunch, playing ball or hanging out with friends. Idyllic is a good word for it. One difference is there was no dinner bell, nor was one needed -- I always seemed to show up when it was time to be fed, like a dog.

I can even remember playing pick-up baseball all day until it became too dangerous to play any more because of fading light. Somebody could get killed by the ball. I doubt that would work well today.