"Go play in the street!" used to be a perfectly reasonable thing to tell your kids.
Not that I disagree with you, but I wonder whether back in the day was as "Mayberry" as people remember it to be. Revelations about rampant child abuse in the Catholic church, for example, went unreported at the time because it just wasn't something parents were aware or of
wary of. The UK is having its own such moment with the horrendous abuses perpetrated by hitherto beloved and respected entertainers.
Jimmy Savile being the highest profile, but there has been a parade of media personalities from my youth who have been implicated - any one of whom my parents would have happily left me in the company of (but thankfully never did).
While its romantic to lament the loss of the childhood freedoms, i think safety is an overpowering concern. As long as organised activities still involve enough running around to keep lids healthy and appropriately worn out by the end of the day, it's all good.
