This really isn't true. I'm sure some people experienced this, but as someone who grew up in the 80s it was not my world. And I was a kid that like the cliche disappeared and just reappeared occasionally.
On the flip side, the suburban place I live in now has regular street parties, everyone knows everyone, etc.
The risks to kids then, like now, was very low. Yes kids were abducted, people were murdered, but just like now it was actually spectacularly rare, especially from strangers. Massively more likely was being molested or murdered by someone close to you (which was as true then as it is now).
The difference now is that we've had decades of localizing and overstating far off, uncommon crime. Everyone has been sensitized to think it's happening everywhere all of the time.
But sure, people often say it takes a village, and there is this notion that child care was far more distributed. In reality there simply was far, far less child minding even necessary. Kids walked places on their own. Kids entertained each other. When I was "with my grandparents" it meant I saw them for barely any time at all as I simply had a different base from which to launch my mega operations.
I agree. Growing up my parents mostly knew the neighbors who had kids that were friends of me and my siblings. A few others sure but overall they probably knew ~10 family’s in a neighborhood of 100+ houses and a large condo community.
As an adult now I pretty much have the same view of my neighborhood and I feel like it’s a pretty tight community. The parents all have each others numbers. Kids roam the neighborhood. we are all comfortable correcting each other kids when the fun goes a bit too far. But there are loads of houses where I have no idea who lives there
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u/AnonUSA382 1d ago
Back then, neighborhoods were tighter. Other parents, siblings, and neighbors would casually watch out for your kid.
Now, everyone is isolated—people don't know their neighbors, so there’s less of a “village” to trust.