I picked up my grandsons (7 and 8) at school again today.

[MineralMan]

12. I remember being taught to look both ways before crossing

when I was really young. I still do that. People used to try to pick up girls back in the 50s, and they knew to run and yell for help then, too. Our parents warned us about stuff like that, so we'd be safer. We had limits as to how far away from the house we could go, and we followed them. As we got older, those limits expanded. I remember being 10 years old and finally being allowed to walk or roller skate to the downtown area. We used to walk to matinees at the local theater and to the soda fountain at the drug store with our coins.

There were creepy people around then, too, and we were told how to avoid them and what to do.

I don't think it's any different now, frankly. Certainly in my neighborhood, things are about the same for kids as they were when I was a kid, and there are kids running around everywhere without adults.

It's all perception. In suburbs, you almost never seen children outdoors. In my urban neighborhood, they're out of doors constantly when they can be, based on the weather and time of day.