[Robb_K]

Yes, it was more innocent back in those days, but the degree of that varied from rural areas to villages, to small towns and varied quite a bit in the more dangerous cities. I remember the late 1940s in The cities of Winnipeg, and Chicago, as well as the suburban areas of those 2 metropolitan areas, and The City of Den Haag and villages in The Netherlands during the 1950s (and all those places up to the present). Yes, in the small towns and suburban, bedroom communities, most all families in a neighbourhood knew each other, and they trusted older pre-teen brothers and sisters to look after their younger children while playing in a park or school playground. In the larger cities, where people a family didn't know could be around on any day, parents who worked away from home were more careful with their young children, and had the grandparents or a neighbour woman, who stayed home look after their children. But wasn't the situation similar for your family in Australia when you were growing up during the 1950s?

Link to the comment: Children of Our Town

[The Australian Panther]

Robb, From the beginning of school, for the next 5 years, we lived in Hervey Bay,  Queensland. I walked to school, 2 blocks to the shopping centre, a bit further on to the beach, into and through bushland in the other direction.
Climbed Mulberry and Mango fruit trees. When I got a bicycle, my range increased exponentially.
Walked to the movies several blocks by myself. I believe that growing up with that freedom contributed to my strong independence.       

[Robb_K]

Robb, From the beginning of school, for the next 5 years, we lived in Hervey Bay,  Queensland. I walked to school, 2 blocks to the shopping centre, a bit further on to the beach, into and through bushland in the other direction.
Climbed Mulberry and Mango fruit trees. When I got a bicycle, my range increased exponentially.
Walked to the movies several blocks by myself. I believe that growing up with that freedom contributed to my strong independence.       

My early years were similar.  In suburban Winnipeg, we walked to elementary school amongst a whole gang of kids, with the 11 and 12 year olds  looking after a bunch of younger kids.  Just from our extended family alone, we had near 20 of us, so we wouldn't have needed supervision help from anyone else.  But, we also had about 6-7 neighbour friends go with us.  The middle school older kids walked with the elementary kids, and after seeing them to the gate, continued further to their own school, a few more blocks.  After school, we'd play in the park, where there was a volunteer (retired man) who handed out balls or other game equipment, and watched to see the kids were safe. Or we'd play in the woods, chasing small animals, or playing hide-and-seek. 

In late Fall, Winter and early Spring, we went home, where we played hockey on our backyard rink, where many of the neighbourhood boys played.  My Grandparents were retired, and home, and they kept an eye on us.  But, really, nothing different would have happened IF no adults were around.  We were allowed to ride our bicycles around the entire city, except on the rare days when the streets were too icy.  But we could get around on those days, walking in our boots, or wearing snowshoes or cross country skiing in the woods or on their edges, where the snow was soft.  After becoming about 9 years old, we were allowed to go anywhere on our own.  IF we needed to go to The City Centre, we had to tell my grandparents, and my grandfather would drive us, or if it wasn't snowy, we could ride our bikes there alone.  No one stole bicycles back then.  No one kidnapped kids.  There weren't a lot of drunk drivers that made it dangerous for little kids to drive bicycles. There were no gangs that would shake down little kids for their lunch or entertainment money.  When we moved to Chicago, we had to be aware of dangers in certain areas of that city, but, generally, we could go to most of the areas near our home and wider neighbourhood without adult supervision during the early 1960s (and that was in South Chicago-part of the city proper, not really suburban.  And even around where my father's store was, in the notoriously dangerous South Side (later in the Late 1960s), as a teenager, I could go anywhere around there with no hint of apprehension.  The World was quite a bit more child-friendly back then.  Nowadays, it seems that parents in USA, and big cities in Canada, and even now starting in big cities in Europe, will not let their young children walk alone on the streets, or be left alone playing in the park without a parent or designated adult supervisor.

[bowers]

 Totally agree with you,  Robb and Panther! We were "Baby Boomers" so there were lots of kids around. Each block had their own "gang". During the Summer we packed a lunch and left the house after breakfast and didn't have to be home until dinner. Our folks taught us resonsibility and right from wrong and, most of the time, we didn't get into much trouble. Our freedom gave us a sense of community, taught us about the consequences of our actions, and helped us to become independent and self-reliant adults.
This book was a wonderful collection of exquisite illustrations showing kids just enjoying being kids! Adults are present, but usually in the background. The verses are both humerous and instructive. All-in-all, a real treat from a bygone era. Thanks, lyons! Cheers, bowers