Young, Alone, and Riding the Subway

re: Young, Alone, and Riding the Subway

Ashley — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 03:38:43 GMT

It's a cultural issue.

I currently live in Japan and you see 5 year olds walking down busy metropolitan streets on their way to school. School age kids take public transport and taxis everywhere. Tweeners on the subway? That's the norm.

But - that said - the Japanese are all about following the rules and mores of the times, and children are taught to revere adults. It's common to see the elderly shooing along dawdlers on their way to school, something I don't think would go over well in the U.S. where parenting and protectiveness seem to be all or nothing.

Japanese kids are held to very high standards and their culture is relatively unforgiving to miscreants.

re: Young, Alone, and Riding the Subway

cocosmalls — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:36:33 GMT

yah i grew up in brooklyn in the 70s and 80s which was MUCH less safe than it is today and we were cool.

seriously the city is only scary if you buy into the hype-for those of us who grew up that way it was fine.

re: Young, Alone, and Riding the Subway

Cassie — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:41:19 GMT

I rode the NYC subways as a kid in the crazy 80's. I also rode the cummter trains and the L in Chicago as a young teen. That was a bit dicey on the L and you had to have a buddy to travel. I think these days it is a lot safer on both transit systems. There are cameras and cops visible nowadays. I have no problem with it.

re: Young, Alone, and Riding the Subway

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:19:53 GMT

Stef nailed it. Burst the bubble. I say that even though my knee-jerk reaction to this story is to say, wtf lady! But then I think about my cousin's 8-year-old son, and he's smarter than I am. (Not difficult, I know.) I'd have no problem freeing him upon the metro system. Guess it depends on the kid.

re: Young, Alone, and Riding the Subway

Samantha — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:41:07 GMT

oh, for pete's sake. The neighbors had a DESK in their yard? Wow, I'd look out for them!

re: Young, Alone, and Riding the Subway

Stef — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:29:32 GMT

I think it is a different world because of the access to way to scary information via the internets, which makes us behave like prisoners in our own homes and neighborhoods. People are still the same as they have always been, some are good, some are weird, some are crazy, some are awesome, and yes, some are bad; but we should not keep our kids in a bubble or else they will never get to know the world. We have to teach them about the world and let them navigate it and figure it out, it is safe, we all live in it. Nine years old is a perfect age for a city kid to learn how to take public transportation, isn't that the very benefit of living in a city with such amazing public transportation? It is our world after all and we need to take it back.

re: Young, Alone, and Riding the Subway

mamamolly — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:54:06 GMT

NYC subways at 9? No. Way. I moved from NYC precisely because I couldn't imagine letting my future kids do anything of the sort. But now I'm in Denver, and I can't really imagine letting my son (who isn't even walking, let alone running yet) run around here either--bordered by busy streets and with several questionable-seeming neighbors in an "up & coming" neighborhood (the people across the street kept a desk in their front yard for about a month last year, for example). Are things more dangerous now, or are we more paranoid? I don't know, but it just seems different than when we were kids.