https://slate.com/human-interest/2011/08/a-1979-first-grade-readiness-checklist-asks-if-your-child-can-travel-alone-in-the-neighborhood-but-not-if-she-can-read.html
http://www.chicagonow.com/little-kids-big-city/2011/08/is-your-child-ready-for-first-grade-1979-edition/
Among other things:
“8. Can he travel alone in the neighborhood (four to eight blocks) to store, school, playground, or to a friend’s home?”
Presumably, widespread helicopter use among parents occurred after 1979.
I had to look up the apartment complex where I lived from 5 to 7. It’s about 6 blocks long and 4 blocks wide and I remember walking all around it regularly with friends. School wasn’t there but the school bus stop was - 5 blocks from my house and I don’t remember Mom walking me there other than the first day each year.
Typical 60’s and 70’s parent/kid conversations:
Where are you going? Out.
Who are you going with? Friends.
When will you be back? Later.
I walked quite a few blocks to and from elementary school. I had to cross a body street, too. I was outdoors most of the time I wasn’t in school.
Kids in my area who live near their schools walk to them today. They will go to friends houses in the neighborhoods. But what I don’t see are young kids at playgrounds unaccompanied by a baby sitter or parent. That was the case for my kids too back in the day though I never heard of anyone calling the police on such scenarios. We did drop off our kids at activities and leave with impunity. I’ve heard that since then, parents hover around and watch. Not a luxury I had with as many kids As I had . I could not attend a lot of their games, performances for that reason.
Nope no way. Would never have allowed it and don’t regret it for a second. When I was growing up I lost both a neighbor and a family friend to street crossing accidents before those kids were 7. I just don’t think young kids really have the judgment to navigate streets against traffic. Sure it turns out ok almost all of the time just like riding in cars without seat belts did. My daughters grew up and had no problem navigating everything from foreign countries to the NYC subway system. There was just very little upside to crossing streets alone before first grade and I wasn’t going to allow that. I didn’t allow it for a long time after that.
Here’s an interesting study about the issue of judgment in kids when road crossing.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170420090208.htm
This was right around when I was in 1st grade. We walked without a parent - my brother was in 3rd and I’m sure a few other kids were there - and it was 0.6 miles. We crossed a lot of side streets and one avenue. I definitely recall being out and about without adult supervision at this age - riding bikes, once going in an apartment building (yikes!). I don’t think it was until 5th grade that we went to the huge city park alone. We were definitely the definition of city latch key kids.
I did not raise my own kids this way.
This was when I grew up too. Definitely rode bikes everywhere, went to friends ‘ houses alone, and allowed to walk into town. I was a young teen when parents started allowing solo trips into NYC via train.
I think my D was 8 when we started letting her ride her bike or walk to a friend’s house, and in the neighborhood. No good public transportation where she grew up so not able to be off on her own exploring until she was 16 and got her license.
At six we lived in a fenced compound in Yokohama, with two apartments and the consulate. We went out and played in the yard alone, but we didn’t wander around the neighborhood. At nine we lived in Hargeisa, Somalia. We rode bikes all over town and also rode horses into the surrounding area alone. One time I fell off, the horse went home without me, and everyone worried until I was able to get to a phone.
I just checked - it was a 1.1 mile walk from my house to kindergarten. I may have walked part way with another kid. This was the late 1960s. I can’t imagine these days letting a 5 year do this.
I remember walking to the school bus stop (about 1/3 mile) in kindergarten, but they cut school buses shortly thereafter, so I walked or bicycled to school (about 1 mile) most of elementary school. Two somewhat busy streets has volunteer crossing guards.
But I doubt many do that now, even though crime is much lower now than then (and it was not a very high crime area to begin with).
Probably no one on these forums had an elementary school commute like this:
Wow, times do change. I just googled the route we walked beginning when we were kindergarteners, 2.5 miles each way. And we walked in rain, snow and sleet, crossing 2 main boulevards in a small suburban city.
I can’t imagine letting kids do that today; at least not from such a young age
Growing up in the 90s, I was the only one allowed to walk around my neighborhood by myself. It was kind of lonely and I didn’t understand why no one else was allowed out. I used to get friends dropped off in a car when they lived two blocks away!
I still don’t understand it. Stranger danger is such bull and a reason for parents to be overprotective and kids to have anxiety issues.
I think I walked about a half mile (8-10 city blocks) starting in 1st grade. In Kindy it was closer because I was at a sitter. I also walked with her son that was the same age then. I still see a lot of pretty little kids walking or biking to school when I head into work in the morning, so here at least it still happens.
I drive my kids (well, my youngest…oldest has a car now), but we live in the country and 15 miles is asking a lot of them in the winter. 
“I still don’t understand it. Stranger danger is such bull and a reason for parents to be overprotective and kids to have anxiety issues.”
Read my post above. My worry wasn’t strangers. It was cars.
Of course, when every parent drives the kid to school, that causes increased traffic around the school, making it more dangerous and causing more delays getting to and from the school.
We used to walk to school, I remember hiding in the back of the police car when my brother was hit by a car. We also used to visit with the caretaker of the shopping center, he used to make us tea and show us his shell collection. I was small enough to really not recall another details. There was a close call on a roundabout when my younger sib was being pushed by older sib in his pushchair. No way was older sib old enough to be responsible for us, he was a little kid. The good old days LOL.
“Of course, when every parent drives the kid to school, that causes increased traffic around the school, making it more dangerous and causing more delays getting to and from the school.”
It wasn’t around the school, where there are crossing guards, that I was worried about.
I was severely criticized for letting two 8 year olds walk around the block in the middle of the day in my suburban development (about a quarter mile of residential houses, but certainly not in the “preferred” demographic) while declining to criticize the other child’s parent for traumatizing my daughter with their poorly trained large dog. In 1998.