I was given the following thought to consider:

I will never know the freedom my parents had as kids and my kids will never know the freedom I had.

It’s a staggering point to consider, especially since my parents were very much of the old school mentality:
“Here’s a Pop-Tart. now get out the door until the streetlights come on.”
Yet, their parents helicoptered them even less than that.

That doesn’t fly (as much) today despite the fact our world is much safer than it has ever been. However, the dangers are there and amplified by media saturation of nothing but horror stories–making everyone a little paranoid.

It still doesn’t fully explain it and I suspect a key factor is the loss of our local community. Giving a child some cash to walk to the corner store and buy some bread isn’t possible because, for one, the corner stores are gone. Then there’s the issue of barely knowing our neighbours.

Perhaps we’re just in another cycle and the pendulum will swing back, especially since virtual spaces are being created to bring local communities together.

Or perhaps our kids will just never know and not be bothered by it.