Making Child-Friendly Communities
Here are some ways to make a community more child-friendly. Especially, walkable/bikeable neighborhoods reduce the need for car trips, and thus, reduce car crashes as a leading cause of death in children. These improvements are generally good for other people too. Most intentional communities do this, and there is nothing "preternatural" about children's independence: they're supposed to be like that. I've seen the same thing in Amish territory, where tweens drive themselves to school in pony carts (and it's their pony, for which they are responsible), older teens driving buggies and running shops.
The level of infantilization in modern society is appalling by contrast -- and then people whine that college kids don't know how to take care of themselves. How could they? Adults have forcibly prevented them from learning those skills. Don't blame the victims, blame the deciders. If you want people to do things, you have to let them actually do things, including make mistakes and learn from that. The worst thing you can do is keep kids wrapped in cotton wool until they turn 18 and are suddenly given control of a car and a crotch with little or no previous experience in decision-making skills.
The level of infantilization in modern society is appalling by contrast -- and then people whine that college kids don't know how to take care of themselves. How could they? Adults have forcibly prevented them from learning those skills. Don't blame the victims, blame the deciders. If you want people to do things, you have to let them actually do things, including make mistakes and learn from that. The worst thing you can do is keep kids wrapped in cotton wool until they turn 18 and are suddenly given control of a car and a crotch with little or no previous experience in decision-making skills.