What are the results of more parental supervision and less outdoor play?

Visits to emergency rooms might not be down if parents are e.g. panicking and bringing a child to the ER with a bruise.

But you can’t create the social environment that existed when all the kids had less supervision. This isn’t just the “someone will call the police” fear; it’s more prosaic too. At some point other parents will view you as suspect and won’t let their kids play with yours, which defeats some of the purpose. Some methods we’ve used: ...

Another method we used was that before letting the kids be at park their own I talked with a lot of the other park parents. These conversations usually started with me asking something like "How are you thinking about when kids are ready to be at the park on their own?", and then touched on a lot of things including what I was planning, walkie talkies, etc. People were neutral to supportive; no one seemed to think it would be irresponsible or unreasonable. This was useful both for reducing the chance that I had misjudged the situation, and reducing the risk that other people would call the cops (Imagined: "Is anyone here with those kids? I'm worried about them." "Oh, those are Jeff and Julia's kids, I talked with Jeff about this and he knows they're here. They have a walkie talkie if they need him, and he's checking on them every so often.")

We recently gave our 9-year old a 'kid license' attached to a tile to take around when he runs errands.  He's had not trouble with anything other than one store refusing to sell him cookies on the basis that they didn't think his mother would approve.  He really loves the independence.  I've given him a cell-phone in a fanny-pack to take when going someplace new, but he doesn't want to take the cell phone most of the time.  Of course we can't do this with our 6-year old, both because he is clearly not mature enough, and even if he was, I'm pretty sure strangers would object.

After my kid was old enough to watch out for cars, he basically got free rein of our neighborhood. I also got him a cell phone early, so that he wouldn’t get lost, and we can communicate should we need the other. He has friends around the neighborhood, and I know most of their parents.

I really haven’t experienced other parents being overly concerned. Typically they are playing together, and the kids are old enough to manage themselves. My son is 13, so he’s almost past the point where anyone is going to blink at him walking alone, but I was always prepared to challenge anyone who didn’t think that he could manage.

One big change from when I was a kid is that my son can socially play video games way easier/more effectively. As a result, he’s more likely than I was to be playing video games, because they have way better communication tools. He doesn’t ride a bike like I did, and I think that a part of the reason is that he’s able to be social and play with his friends, all without leaving his house. If I didn’t ride my bike, I just wouldn’t see my friends.

I’m skeptical of these trends, or at least in the causal links implied here. The world is a bit more complex, and we have different tools, but I don’t think things are so radically different. My folks didn’t have the option of buying me a cell phone when I was a kid, but I’m sure would have had they been available. If Roblox was a thing when I was a kid, I likely would have played with my friends on there (technically around my folks) rather than biking 1.5 miles to my friend’s house. I didn’t have to worry about a global pandemic, nor did I grow up concerned about a changing climate. The internet wasn’t a thing. Heck, mental healthcare was practically taboo.

I think that the kids are going to be just fine. They have unique challenges, but they also have better tools to meet them. While I also believe in free-range parenting, my son’s friends whose parents prefer a more supervised style are great kids too.

But you can’t create the social environment that existed when all the kids had less supervision. This isn’t just the “someone will call the police” fear; it’s more prosaic too. At some point other parents will view you as suspect and won’t let their kids play with yours, which defeats some of the purpose.

If we're venturing into historically unprecedented changes in child upbringing either way, then it might be good to keep in mind that children spending time with other children is important for developing social skills in preparation for harsher social environments later on, but introspection and time spent talking with smart adults/tutors [LW · GW] might result in substantially improved intelligence by the time they become adults.

As gaining approval from other parents becomes increasingly costly to the children themselves (due to other parents hovering and expecting you to consistently hover), it might be a good idea to just reduce stuff (including playdates and birthday parties) that require costly investment in getting other parent's approval.

Plus, other kids will basically impose their phones and tablets on your kids, notably games and services like TikTok and Youtube (kid version) and intensely attention-optimized repetitive mobile games which are far more harmful than Minecraft (which Kelsey Piper claimed her friend's kids generally preferred over any other activity).

Curated. I really liked reading this combination of big picture stats and practical experience with giving kids independence, and I think others will like reading it too. (It was especially fun to read with lots of pictures.)

You can’t single-handedly recreate the 1960s

One friend said that after reading about historical rates of parental supervision, she’d take her preschooler to the park and say, “Have fun, I’ll be over here reading my book.” I also try to channel the older laid-back approach to supervision of outdoor play.

But you can’t create the social environment that existed when all the kids had less supervision. This isn’t just the “someone will call the police” fear; it’s more prosaic too. At some point other parents will view you as suspect and won’t let their kids play with yours, which defeats some of the purpose.

The main thing, for me, is not that other parents will view us as suspect, but just that other kids are less likely to be there. My kids don't want to just go out and run around because the other kids aren't out there to run around with.

The site freerangekids has a map depicting an (anecdotal) decrease in childhood roaming over four generations. Not exactly hard data, but gestures at something obviously true.

Slightly adjacent to your post, but felt worth mentioning

There's a guy called Rafe Kelley on youtube who has a fairly good answer to this, which I'm going to attempt to summarize from memory because I can't point you toward any reasonable sources (I heard him talking about it in a 1h+ conversation with everyone's favourite boogeyman, Jordan Peterson).

His reasoning goes thus:
1.) We need play in order to develop: play teaches us how to navigate Agent - Arena relationships

This speaks to the result of playground injuries increasing despite increased supervision - kids aren't actually getting to spend enough time playing in the physical Arena, their capability to navigate it is underdeveloped because of excess indoor time and excess supervision.

2.) We need rough play (e.g. play fighting), specifically, to teach us a whole bunch of capabilities around Agent - Agent - Arena relationships; conflict, boundaries, emotional regulation are all, Rafe argues, rooted in rough play.

Through rough and tumble play, we learn the physical boundaries between agents. We learn that it hurts them, or us, when boundaries are crossed. We learn where those boundaries are. We learn to regulate our emotions with respect to those boundaries.

These are highly transferable, core skills, without which human development is significantly stunted.

Growing up with overprotective parents profoundly shaped my perspective, aligning closely with the author's views. I believe in the importance of unsupervised free play for my children, offering them ample opportunities while also gently encouraging them to step out of their comfort zones. 

In discussing this approach with friends, I was surprised to discover many held a firm stance on not letting their children out of sight until they're 15. This prompted me to conduct a survey on parental attitudes towards children's independence, such as biking to a store or taking a bus. The results were eye-opening: a majority of parents that responded wouldn't grant such freedoms until their children are old enough for a driver's license.

The LessWrong Review [? · GW] runs every year to select the posts that have most stood the test of time. This post is not yet eligible for review, but will be at the end of 2024. The top fifty or so posts are featured prominently on the site throughout the year.

Hopefully, the review is better than karma at judging enduring value. If we have accurate prediction markets on the review results, maybe we can have better incentives on LessWrong today. Will this post make the top fifty?

Parents think it's not okay to roll a toy down the slide, seriously? 

There are other things on with playgrounds I think. Here (NZ), there has been a big movement toward making playgrounds safer - which has made them a great deal less fun. Since children still want adventure and a challenge, they use playgrounds in ways not intended (eg on top of frames holding swings etc). 

Apparently our kids were "feral". As far as I can tell, this was for being allowed in the bush unsupervised. They got by on one broken leg, 4 pulled elbows, one concussion plus usual scrapes and bruises which help teach limits. All but the concussion (on a school playground during break) happened while supervised. Maybe we werent paying enough attention.

But my own upbringing had far more freedom. Only 1km to beach and the rule was no going into water without an adult, no digging in sand dunes, and "careful on the road" walking to and fro. Oh and tell an adult where you were going. The environment did not seem as safe to us when our own children came along. Perception? Reality? Lot more cars for one thing.

Oh, and lets hear it for the scout movement. Getting really dirty, proper physical challenges. My son did sea scouts where supervision amounted mostly to ensuring they were wearing life jackets and fishing them out of water if required. They raced in, rigged their boats and got onto water as fast as possible with no direction at all. Water fights, boardings, and races all ensued. On the way, some pretty good water/boat skills developed mostly by osmosis. 

I think we should be discouraging unjustified appeals to authority in our children, so...

"Rehearsing with my kids what they’d say if a grownup asks why they’re alone: “My parents said it’s ok for me to be here The socially optimal level of abduction/traffic accident risk is not zero”