American Parenting is NOTHING like in Europe!

[@L3WGReacts]

Live reacts on twitch: twitch.tv/L3WG

[@HumpDayAdams]

This girl is making definitive statements without taking larger concepts into consideration like historical changes/background of both nations, geographic differences, national social differences, regional socioeconomic and regional cultural differences that can differ drastically in America based on where you are even within one state, population size, level of danger the population poses to children in America vs Germany, ect. So much of what she said was ONLY specific to her personal experience based only on where she lived in both countries in her very young life. Example Playgrounds come in all shapes and sizes with all types of differences for varying reasons in the US & not all are safety- but the US also allows people to start legal action and sue for money if their child got hurt on a playground owned by the city bc we pay for healthcare and a broken bone/ stitches/ medical imaging is not cheap and people can go into debt so it’s also for legal reasons that that gov/state/ cities/ counties want to avoid so that that our playgrounds are more safe and they avoid legal issues.

[@BobbyCYeah]

she is speaking from HER experiences, not speaking on behalf of how it is "in America".

[@murob2347]

Exactly

[@AngellMessiah]

Right?! I grew up in the '90s with a single mom, I was basically always home alone. 😄

[@IC27185]

I thought playground safety was a federal thing. Playgrounds have to meet a certain federal standard or get torn down.

[@bluflaam777LSA]

@@IC27185 There is no US FED playground safety thing that is enforced. The FEDs always offer safety 'how toes' but local municipalities make their own rules.

[@bluflaam777LSA]

I grew up in the 70s graduated HS in the early 80s. It was nothing of what she said. Even now where I live in a suburban area, there is a park just a few blocks down the street and kids ride their bikes around the neighborhood. There are hiking trails that go down into/thru the canyon that kids ride their bikes on the trails for miles. I get that some parents are more of a helicopter mom thing or they might live in an area that could be 'iffier' for kids to be alone at certain times of the day/week.

[@rwrws8318]

I guarantee that Baby boomers and Gen xers have no idea what she is talking about.

[@JeffN4POD]

I think she was very sheltered... She HAD helicopter parents. I didn't raise my kid that way. He walked to school by himself from 2nd grade on and had a house key to get in when he got home from school since both his mom and I worked. I broke my arm on the monkey bars playing on a wood and steel playground set with wood mulch underneath. No big deal.

[@janfitzgerald3615]

Agreed! My son was able to walk a block over to a friend’s house to play at age four. Granted he was able to cut through a yard, but still I wasn’t worried about his safety. I think she was extremely sheltered or had helicopter parents.

[@lynnw7155]

Yeah; the risks were half the fun growing up in the 1960s. Going down a metal slide in the hot sun...wearing shorts. My kids grew up in the 1990s on a farm; lots of risks there. We all survived.

[@ericbonds2302]

I grew up in the 60's and 70's and my childhood was nothing like she's describing. In elementary school we had a set of monkey bars, every school year someone would fall off the top and crack their head open on the asphalt below. And during the summer break I was out the door at 9:00am and nobody knew where I was at all day. The only rule was be home when the street lights turned on.

[@sandramiller6752]

👍🏻👍🏻💯❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@TNugent]

@@ericbonds2302 exactly, this girl was probably born in the 21st century and has no idea because she was sheltered and coddled all her life. No one kept tabs on us we did all kinds of dangerous and fun stuff. If we got injured across town or at some random park or play ground on monkey bars or merry go round you walked it off got stitches, or went home and got monkey blood and a band Aid 😆

[@NicholeJohns]

I was born in '79, so I was an 80's/90's kid and it was the same for us. Metal slids, seesaws, merry go rounds...oh the jungle gym. We were outside all day and home by the time the first street light went on. Rode bikes to the corner store, hell we played at the river behind the apartment complex.

[@KarenCatMom2]

Yep I grew up that way too. I really think lawsuits people suing the school of the playground or the city when their child fell and got hurt is what changed everything. I'm not really sure whether that started in the 60s 70s 80s but it got to the point where everything became super protected because a fear of lawsuits. And then there were tv ads all the time guilting parents into becoming helicopter parents.

[@ericbonds2302]

@@TNugent That was my dad's reaction too. Man up!, Walk it off!...lol The only time we went to the hospital was if I had one foot in the grave.

[@kathybouziane5269]

I think this girl grew up in a cocoon. Must have been an only child. 5 siblings growing up and our parents said it was like herding cats to keep an eye on us. 😼😾😸

[@bluflaam777LSA]

I think you're right. This isn't typical US situations.

[@ajwinberg]

I was an only child, and I grew up in the 80s. It sounds to me that she is from one of the younger generations. The play grounds at parks and schools now days are safer than they were when I was a kid.

[@harvestmoon_autumnsky]

@@ajwinberg She's only like nineteen, probably born around 2005. Kids/parenting are way different these days.

[@spaceshiplewis]

She was sheltered. She doesn't speak for all Americans.

[@carriemaxwell417]

Very sheltered.

[@Jay123hollis]

I was thinking the same thing when I first saw. This is my second time seeing this video I was born in 1991 and I was hardly sheltered at all.

[@Tiffany-ne9fr]

She must have been raised with helicopter parents. 😂 Her comparisons of play equipment are comical, as is her being scared and needing help. Children go on the city bus alone lady😂 good grief.

[@asgardian6638]

Im older now but man, what i've heard these days, is parents getting in legal trouble for letting their kid play alone in the yard. Its nuts. Or going to the park by themself. Its more than how the parents CHOOSE to raise kids.

[@mar420.74]

You must live in a nice area because when i played outside as a kid my dad had to at least keep an eye on me while i let my imagination run wild outside with chalk or sticks lol, because it was a strange neighborhood but my sister always be riding home on her bike like some old guy on drgs is trying to talk to me, i was there once at night and yeah a man DID try to slowly keep walking up to us, luckily there is like five of us and im technically an adult now. But you jave to acknowledge doing anything anymore isn't safe? like riding the bus 😂 nobody usually rides those anyway (HERE.) unless they don't have a car so if some ten year old is on it alone, uh im going to be worried about that kids walk home for a second, literally growing up i don't know how many times people have been outside my middle schools and they were all old males so, no i feel like i have every right to worry about kids nowadays, gyms parks school literally nothing is safe anymore and it's sad :/

[@DavidEckard]

When I was a kid, slides were metal. In the heat of the summer, they'd burn your ass off because metal is capable of heating up so much.

[@crescentmoonchild4031]

And they were very tall! We had monkey bars, merry go round and those swings that one kid sat and another straddled and they swung like that! That merry go round could really go fast and sling you off! I remember sitting on wax paper on the slide to make you go faster too! I’m alive😂 but I do remember one kid falling off top of slide and had to get stitches…red rover, dodge ball, yeah those were some games

[@rusone2516]

Same

[@malloryparent8555]

We used to take wax paper to the playground and wax the burning hot metal slide!

[@KatyConlan-y1e]

Lewis you’re exactly right. It All depends on the parents.

[@JoWoGoGo]

I think maybe this is more of a generational difference than a geographical difference. Ask any of us American kids from the 1970's and before. The world.was our playground...we got out into it.

[@aimeehamby828]

The best times ever!!

[@grizwaldhum6376]

Until you guys grew up and kept all your kids indoors. And then proceed to complain why your kids never go outside.

[@EdnaFlanagan]

Correct!

[@NicholeJohns]

It wasn't like this in the 80's/90's either. I feel sorry for her if this was how she was raised.

[@tinagarcia3571]

@@grizwaldhum6376 video games did that not parents.

[@TNugent]

Yeah today in the US parents are like helicopter parents. When I grew up in the seventies and eighties here in Texas it wasn't like that at all. From about 8 years old I was told to be outside and was wondering the neighborhood without supervision. Those were the days

[@saggguy7]

I don’t think it’s the the parents are helicopter parents exactly, because they’re much more lenient and unconcerned about certain things than parents used to be. I think this particular thing is because people don’t know their neighbors anymore. In the 1970s, if your kid was roaming the neighborhood, they were always nearby to an adult that they and you both knew. Not the case anymore. Most People’s neighbors are strangers or little more than that.

[@danxtermatechjones]

Yeah, not that way in Georgia either until sometime in the 2000's When I was kid the playground was fun and dangerous and thats what made it fun🤣

[@robynbeach3198]

​@saggguy7 good argument for rural America. My ex mother in law once called me a child abuse for taking my kids to Chicago for a few weeks. I'm starting to feel like she's right! 😂😂😂😂😂

[@AB-up6gf]

I grew up in the 70s. Then parents didn't realize that 'bad things can happen'. That seems like such a silly statement, but those were the days before you put your babies in car seats, the days that you trick-or-treated at strangers homes, that your parents would just tell you to go to the toy section in the store while they were off doing their shopping...but those were the days before people put razor blades into Halloween candy, the days before Adam Walsh was abducted from a department store, the days before I personally lost 2 cousins as children and another as an adult in car accidents. Maybe it's just the emphasis the media puts on all the bad in the world, but people got more protective of their kids and raising mine in the 90s I don't think that's entirely bad. Sure my son never trick or treated at a stranger house and stayed with me when we went shopping, but he's still a well adjusted adult. The generation that is now raising children has heard of countless school shootings, can Google where all the child predators live in their neighborhood, and experienced 9-11 in their formative years...I don't think parenting is going to get more permissive soon.

[@Wvaspartan]

Tons of American kids take a regular bus by themselves… they are called kids that live in the city. I used to take a commuter train that tons of private school children took to school from outside the city.

[@jjman5]

I’m a baby boomer in the US and that was before all the safety concerns happened. No one was watching us play and playgrounds weren’t safety protected. It was a different world back then.

[@victoryhillstudioanimalpor2625]

Sure was!

[@SherriLyle80s]

Kids in big cities in the US ride public buses. Suburban areas need school buses as there are no bus systems efficient enough to take them to school.

[@karladawnjones718]

Also, school buses will make more traffic in the city

[@harvestmoon_autumnsky]

Where I live in the suburbs of San Francisco our school district can't afford school busses so all the kids who live too far too walk and aren't chauffeured by parents, even elementary kids, take public busses.

[@Tez.6]

Yeah I always caught the city buses not a cheese bus. And I honestly don't know anyone that did growing up.

[@nanholmes9229]

She must have been very sheltered. Some schools are like that so the don’t get sued. I m from Texas and have been on many hot slides. I rode my bike to school. I would also play outside and could be gone all day as long as I came home when the streetlights came on. The never knew where we were most of the time. At the same time any parent in the neighborhood could discipline you. So all the parents sort of looked after all the neighborhood kids. She grew up in a bubble.

[@MsSarahfish]

This girl to young to remember how playgrounds used to be…

[@Oprhan87]

They were battle fields lol

[@cln333]

I agree. Also, the playground she described in Germany sounds exactly like all the park playgrounds in any of the cities I've lived in. She seems super out of touch with the average American.

[@flattop223]

5:43 I don't know where she's from in America but yes we have those kind of things in America, the park next to my house when I lived in California had a 9-ft tall climbing rock for the kids, I always got nervous when the kids would start climbing up there because they climb up they stand on top of it, and it's 9 ft tall!

[@paulharris8364]

I’m a boomer and we were told to get out of the house and stay from 7 or 8. We had a big bell by our back door and the rules was come home when I hear the bell. Now days a family was accused of neglect for letting their 10 yr old walk a mile to the store.

[@OkiePeg411]

As a kid in the late 60s, 70s, and teen in the early 80s... we were fearless, and mothers didn't bubble wrap us. We were gone most of the day. We ride our bikes long distances to see friends. My schools never had plastic playground equipment or rubber mats on the ground. We even knew how to treat our own scrapes and skinned knees. That girl is obviously a post Y2K kid!!! I didn't know any kid my age growing up that was afraid of a playground!!!

[@dawson1220]

Old metal slides get HOT 🔥 AF!

[@margaretspignardo5588]

That's what the piece of cardboard was for.

[@MaxxGoodman1954]

She is VERY sheltered. At 5 yrs. old I was walking across town to go to kindergarten. We had asphalt playgrounds at school with monkey bars, metal slides (about 12 feet tall), and not much adult supervision. It was a great time to grow up. Nowadays, helicopter parents are everywhere.

[@Tez.6]

Yeah same except in didn't do the kindergarten, it was first grade. Had my own house key and everything.

[@markrolman1034]

The playgrounds I grew up playing on in the 70s and 80s were way different than the playgrounds my kids grew up playing on. I broke two permanent teeth while on the playground.

[@HumpDayAdams]

Agreed I think this girl is missing the information on history, socioeconomic background of the areas she’s been exposed to in America, and larger concepts in play like geography. For example Chicago had many metal slides all over but areas in the south I also lived in as a child were quick to adopt plastic slides open slides *if the area had the money* to do so bc the damn heat the southern states experience would make the slide so hot you can’t even touch it during the summer when kids would be using it the most while they are out on summer break. Screw the rust/screws/sharp edges/ or height… nah if you can’t even touch the slide during summer break months it’s a waste of space.

[@Jsawyer1974]

In the US we won’t be allowing parties with alcohol for under aged kids. We will get arrested!

[@Tylermaddox1911]

It's legal to drink alcohol on private property with adult supervision under 21. Probably also depends on state.

[@Jsawyer1974]

@@Tylermaddox1911 in New York it’s a crime

[@zarahbelle3627]

She clearly grew up in the 2k’s and not the 1900’s 😂😂😂 90’s kids and prior had an extremely different upbringing. Also, she definitely had helicopter parents cuz being scared on the playground is WILD.

[@AlphanumericCharacters]

My kids are 10 and 8. We go to the park all the time. Their favorite they call the “rope park”. It looks very similar to that “scary” one in Europe. It’s not an old holdover either. They remodeled the park maybe five years ago. There is alot of helicopter parenting these days but I let mine have freedom. They ride their bikes around the block and down to the 7 Eleven. This girl seems very sheltered.

[@stephenboyd7244]

Here in The States, kids get kidnapped

[@malkahbatyisrael290]

Or worse!

[@lookoutforchris]

Same in Germany and the UK. In fact both of those countries report more missing children per capita a year than the US.

[@theresasmith3540]

​@@lookoutforchrisIn America 2,100-2,300 children are reported missing everyday every 40 seconds a child goes missing , Approximately 840,000 children are reported missing every year some of those are adults also .

[@meganleffingwell3437]

Today's parents are helicopter parents mostly because there is a lot more worry over abductions. When I grew up in the early 2000s my siblings and I could play outside whenever we wanted but that was only because we had a large piece of property with woods and fields, and the only neighbors we had were our grandparents on one side and another couple on the other side of the property. They kind of helped look after us

[@murob2347]

My parents were always happy to pick me up anytime. They were just happy that I wasn't driving. They would both come so that one could drive me home, and the other could drive my car home.

[@peggyradeck9140]

When I was growing up we had real playgrounds with metal slides, monkey bars, merry go rounds etc.. That was before people got Sue happy

[@michelcooper23]

@@peggyradeck9140 I remember the bruises fondly. 😂

[@menmauzimaki6577]

America used to do free range parenting till Adam Walsh disappeared and was murdered. His father John Walsh was key in making parents aware of dangers. Our country is huge and you cannot assume all adults are looking out for your kid. Parents today watch our kids more closely. We also had a couple serial killers that murdered teen and young men in the 1970’s and 1980’s. John Wayne Gacy and in 1990’s Jeffrey Dahlmer. So American parents are all over where are you going? Etc.

[@irenemichelleanne]

I grew up on America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries.

[@terrykatz9629]

I think it depends on the child and the parent. Her perspective will probably change once she's a parent herself. The world is not a safe place for children who are left to their own devices. She seems very naive.

[@travisgregory8971]

She's too young to remember, but we had metal slides & dangerous playground equipment growing up. I'm only 40...

[@verlishdieverrukte6933]

She means playground toys like hobby horses stuck into the ground on giant springs.😅 Nothing easily takeable!

[@FujishimaAkiko]

What part of the US does she even live in? Because those playgrounds still exist... She must have come from under a rock some where...lol

[@kab1341]

When I was 17 I was definitely not on playgrounds 🤣 kids today are weird af

[@Chriscraft50]

We hung out in the park playground to get high at 17 in the early 80's. But you're right about kids today. That same park is behind my house.

[@annawallace9779]

I think she is speaking from experience with her parents, but as a parent I care where my children are and who they hang out with. It’s not about controlling,but caring about our children wellbeing. It’s important for our children to have an education to become successful in life and not dependent upon others for success.

[@R777-RLM]

Her mom never told her how playgrounds in the US used to be. That's why we're becoming so stupid in the US. I edited, to add about what she said about German parents letting them have parties at home, because here those parents would be responsible for every kid there, so if one snuck in alcohol then got in a crash, it could be pinned on the parents at the party. We've traded freedom for safety; by law.

[@PriscillaV1964]

We had scary Playgrounds in America, . . . But we recognized the dangers in them as we became aware of the long term consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury. That is why our Playgrounds became safer. There is something very sad about losing your life's potential because you fell off an unnecessarily unsafe piece of Playground Equipment when you were 7.

[@FRAME5RS]

It's very regional and cultural. The over protection is seen more in cities and suburbs, coastal areas. A country kid in Texas or Montana is not raised the same at all.

[@janfitzgerald3615]

In her case I think it was her parents. My son who grew up first in the suburbs in the California Bay Area and at age four he was walking by himself to play at friends a block away. His elementary through high school graduation were in a suburb of Seattle and he and his friends played outside, playing “army” etc in the wooded area at the end of the street. The only was be home for dinner.

[@FRAME5RS]

@@janfitzgerald3615 I was more referring to now. I grew up in the 60s and 70s in the LA suburbs and we were running all over the neighborhood at 7. Which is a little crazy considering all the serial killers running amok back then.

[@shirleyz7400]

In America it depends on where you live & what kind of neighborhood they live in. I grew up where kids went out to play or visit friends until a certain time to come home. Usually friends in your neighborhood. I think 7 yrs old & on. Everyone knew everyone. Most parents were like that in the area. Now in a busy city they probably keep a closer eye out for them until older. We have playground like 5:37 Also helicopter parents are like always hovering over their kid deciding everything for them & not letting the freedom much to doing things on their own. Like for example a young kid can’t just go play on the playground without their parent being right next to them because they’re scared the kid might get hurt & the kid doesn’t learn to do things on their own. Your parents sounded like my parents. Also most people who look back at their schools & wish they had tried harder. You turned out great so your parents did a good job. 👍✌️😊💚

[@ashleymcintosh7165]

so the way she is describing german playgrounds, is exactly how American playgrounds used to be. When I was growing up, we had the metal slides, rope style things to climb on, metal bar domes, all kinds of things that you could get hurt on. I haven't been to a playground in a long while, but I'm only 37, so America also used to be that way. Heck, we had metal merry-go-rounds that you would fly off of if you weren't strong and careful. XD

[@djbibbs]

i grew up in the 90's and i was out from sun up to when the street lights came on.

[@Trifler500]

5:30 - We absolutely have things like the picture at this timestamp. What we don't have is the spider web string thing she showed earlier.

[@lauriehouse4547]

No kids at 2 am.maybe young adults at 2 am

[@Kittyheavenwith21cats]

Ya as a child in the states i always played alone but with my children no way except in my yard..its just because we got smarter and crimes got worse. Or at least with media we see its more dangerous than my parents realized

[@katrinahartman7323]

rural kid of the 1990's, rough jungle gyms, play alone all the time. never caudle. road two different bus's to school. It really depends on where you grow up and who your parents are. yes I was brought up independently. It taught me how to think for myself and solve my own problems, face your consequences when you get in trouble.

[@Kenyon712]

It would be embarrassing to have your parents pick you up from a party or club, if mid to late teens. In the US.

[@lorireed8046]

You can't get into a "club" as a teen here .... What are you talking about? Going to a friend's party and getting picked up by your parent wouldn't even be noticed! You just walk out and say "Okay I'm out bye" you are weird acting like everyone pays attention to your coming and going . They aren't.

[@Kenyon712]

You have no idea. You go with friends. You leave with friends or older siblings or older friends. Parent pick up, is for kids.

[@pinjam100]

Our kids ride dirt bikes tractors and anything with a motor. We definitely don't coddle our kids.

[@aprillloyd12]

The helicopter parenting around grades, schoolwork, and extracurricular activities usually stems from a parent's fear of the overwhelming costs associated with university tuition and fees. They pressure their kids to perform in order to be awarded scholarships

[@angelalucarelli649]

Wasn't like that when I was young and growing up in the 70's and 80's in America. Now with all the kidnappings yeah parents need to watch closely.

[@eugenialafleur1587]

It depends on the distance between home and school .

[@verlishdieverrukte6933]

My cousin ripped her bicep open on a plastic slide because the screw was uncapped... they are NOT that much safer! 😅

[@segisbasbas6347]

In America it all depends on what generation you were born in. Being born and raised in the 70s, we played a lot more outside and most of our play grounds were being used and everything was either made by metal and with concrete flooring. The kids these days are either on there phones or in the rooms playing video games!

[@seacradev5400]

Her experience is unique and not the American experience.

[@marvincasteel4876]

most new playgrounds in america are like the plastic and rubber and safety railings every where! but the ones i grew up with were wood, metal, and concrete! i grew up in the 70's and 80's btw.

[@AB-up6gf]

Another reason playgrounds seem safer in America in this day and age is because at least in many areas they have to be accessible to those with disabilities.

[@juls383]

In the first 3 minutes I found her to be clueless.

[@segisbasbas6347]

We also use the terms college and university, most of the cities in America have community or vocational colleges and most U.S. states have universities. Examples… USC, UCLA, BYU so much more!

[@Hardcopy05]

I don’t share her view. She must have been a sheltered child. I grew up in a different generation.

[@PixelatedTwix]

I wonder what American parenting she’s comparing German parenting to because it is vast depending on culture. My southern parents were way more strict than my friends’ but I’m also a latch key kid so there is that to consider -Xenniel

[@CurrentyObsolete]

It's also vastly different depending upon whether or not someone lives in a city versus out in the country, etc. She's unfortunately comparing parenting from the one place she went in Germany to the likely one place she grew up. Unfortunately, generalizations often don't work about the US because like you said, once you take into account culture, time, location, etc you're going to find vast vast differences.

[@Frogr82]

She grew up sheltered or in a small town. The areas I've lived in children from around ages 6 or 7 and up the kids run around the neighborhood. She may have had a helicopter parent herself

[@Whiteruffels]

No they are ridiculous now.We grew up very differently.We knew ourselves to put the work in ourselves.She is very sheltered,but she thinks she’s not.

[@bradleyvarner781]

The playgrounds are safer in the US because we’re so ready to sue if something bad happens 4:08

[@jono8884]

We have similar playgrounds.....she must have been very sheltered.

[@starple1318]

All suburbs in US seem to have school busses, in NYC school busses are for elementary schools & children with special needs, from middle school(age10-11, 6th grade) children in NYC are given metro cards to use public transportation to get to school,

[@Justanamericanman]

This girls idea of American life for children is not typical! At all!

[@dgator3599]

Our playground in elementary school in the early 70s should've had it's own school clinic. From 1st to 6th grade, I saw a dislocated shoulder and gaping head wound to boys who fell from the monkey bars. A broken arm and multiple bloody knees from kids jumping from the spinning merry go round (who waits until it comes to a complete stop, please!). A broken ankle from a girl who jumped from the swings. Shrieks and screams from kids wearing dresses or shorts sliding down the 120 degree metal slide. Of course a pipe with a spigot was outside for us to drink out of. Fun times for everyone :)

[@danblakeslee3570]

As an American who is not that much older than her, she had a completely different upbringing than MANY kids here, including me.

[@DocIdaho]

This is HER experience in her town.

[@ajruther67]

Generation X and older were more like Germany. As children as young as 5 years old, we were very independent. I started riding the bus at 6 years old, which is 1st grade. My grandmother walked me to the bus stop in the morning but I walked home from the bus stop after school. It seems later generations are constantly supervised and coddled.

[@Dandee268]

Exactly. I was 5, starting 1st grade, and walked a mile to and from the bus stop. 😂 I had 4 older siblings.

[@BeccaLJP]

I'm definitely a helicopter mom 😂😂 I have 4 boys and I have great relationships with all of them, so they don't mind sticking close to Mom. Lol.

[@trailryder5813]

I grew up in the 70's so things have changed drastically since then. Some of the changes is warranted due to how society has changed and would also vary depending on where you lived as well I imagine. But in the summer I grew up on the extreme edge of a small city or large town and my family owned a bit of land that included plenty of wooded areas, small lakes and several streams. This roughly 350 acres my family owned also joined another 500 acres of property that was wooded as well. The 850 acres became our playground and in the summer I would leave home on my bike later my dirt bike then 3 wheeler (before the time of the common 4 wheeler) and we didn't have to be home until around 5 to 6 PM. I started doing this with my friends with us being between the ages of about 8 to 14 or so. Once I turned 15 years old it was learners permit time and of course at 16 years of age I got my driver's license. Though at 14 years of age I did have my motorcycle license and would go to the mall or a few other places or just ride around the neighborhood at times. By the time we hit the age of 12 we had started squirrel hunting with .22 rifles as pretty much every boy got one between 12 and 14. Don't get the wrong idea we learned how to shoot safely as well as to fully respect the gun and never had one single accident or even a close call. We also didn't shoot squirrels just to shoot them we skinned and cleaned them and my mom or grandmother would cook them for us in a nice gravy with biscuits.

[@Gforceracing20]

In the US during the late 70s and the 80s kids were told to "Go Outside and Play" Our moms had no idea where we were until dinner time.

[@richardbenton4399]

When I was 10 years old my father saw me and one of my friend in other town 20 miles away he just told us to get back to our neighborhood so we just turned around and rode our bikes back home but not on the road we went into the woods and we didn't get in trouble for going out of town he just wanted us to get back because it was getting late by the time we got back it was dark

[@lorireed8046]

So how is your half sibling doing in that town? LoL 😂 We all know why Dad didn't want to deal with it .

[@Whiteruffels]

She must have those helicopter parents.I was riding the subway and taking the bus at 8 in Brooklyn in the 60’s.

[@MariaE41283]

13 in the 70s to go to private high school- I took NYC transit buses to HS NYC was different. I’m glad my parents forced me to get better grades. I got SCHOLARSHIPS to the college (which actually is a university) of my choice. It saved me and my parents so much money. This girl is grouping too many people together. Not everyone in the US can be grouped together the way she is doing. Decades, cities, and cultures make her generalizations too broad.

[@Whiteruffels]

@ yes my sister took a bus in the 60’s to Staten Island a Catholic school,just forgot the name you would probably remember.My brother was accepted to Brooklyn tech,but went to Bishop Ford.

[@Whiteruffels]

Can’t remember the name,both my sisters went grey blazers.crap

[@murob2347]

I don't think this has anything to do with what country you are from. European parents and US parents are very much the same, but it depends on your specific parents.

[@carolc2404]

You can tell she is young. As a parent and grandmother younger children, most be accompanied by adult because of kids being kidnapped. 3rd grade and under at bus stops. The school will not allow the students off if no is there for them. As far as school busses are used in the suburbs and farm land because there is no public transportation.

[@youp9546]

One of the reasons for safe US playgrounds: lawyers

[@phyllisnicholas2603]

I grew up in Central California in the late 50s and 60s. We had total and complete freedom as kids. The neighborhoods were teaming with kids. No cell phones, computers, or helicopter parents. We just had to be home by sunset. Played on the beach and woods.

[@DeborahDavis-zi6pm]

These things are more generational than German vs. American.

[@impresarioe6824]

My mother told me if I got caught underage drinking, she would let the cops take me.😂😂😂😅

[@sherryjoiner396]

Mine told me the same thing, and I think she would have! But she let us have an occasional beer at home.

[@ARNM55-l9v]

Older American here. All the great comments about the late 1960's American playgrounds & no one commented on the multi-person [industrial] public park swings, that used the big open chain links & had the heavy thick unpainted boards for seats? They often had splinters & could knock you out if you didn't get out of the way fast enough, when your got off. Remember jumping or falling off the swings when you exceeded 45 degrees or when the swings' legs would start to lift up out of the ground? Some slides were like frying pans or silver cheese graters & those spinning wheel things were a blast. Those old playgrounds with dog poop in the dirt, wooden swing seats, sharp rusted bolt heads sticking out & multiple coats of flaking lead based paint were great fun, at least until used needles & broken glass bottles became "a thing."

[@lorireed8046]

My MY .... How to tell everyone you was hood raised without telling us?

[@Jordy-q9v]

I guess you weren't the sunny kid in class were you.😊lol I remember in Brooklyn having those giant metal swings and getting hit in the forehead and knocking my brains sideways.

[@margaretspignardo5588]

Your mother should still not let you out by yourself! 😂🤣😂🤣

[@CurrentyObsolete]

As someone in the US, but it sounds like my kids had a very similar upbringing to you, Lewis. They had quite a bit more freedom than a lot of the people in the US maybe, but they learned a lot from doing things. We supported them and tried to make sure they knew how important things like school were, but otherwise stayed out of their way. My three kids ended up all wanting to do very different things once they hit University age. I was a Gen x kid in the US, so my upbringing was probably a lot like whatever video you were talking about at the beginning of this one haha.

[@Orangethemartian]

“I’m calling you because your son brought a knife to school.” “Boys be boys.”

[@Loki_Trickster]

"Did he stab someone with it?" "No" "Did he damage school property" "No" "I don't get why you are calling me at work. Give the knife back to him at the end of the day, and I'll make sure he doesn't bring it tomorrow"

[@so3683]

take what she says with a big grain of salt. she is still a child herself, apparently an only child, she's wrong on a lot of these

[@KatyFaulkner-f6c]

Yeah, Gen X wasn't watched at all! 😄 The kids are now and that's why Gen X thinks the kids today are so whimpy!!!

[@mdfield1]

In the 50’s and 60’s, growing up in Southern California was HEAVEN in the Summer. From early morning, until the Sun went down, we were outside and our parents didn’t know WHERE WE WERE OR WHAT WE WERE DOING!!! Today, kids NOT on a bus, are DRIVEN TO SCHOOL and parents constantly watch them. With the Internet, more parents imagine there are perverts EVERYWHERE! I feel sorry for kids today.

[@picardy7488]

Same on the east coast…out all day

[@AB-up6gf]

There are perverts EVERYWHERE..have you looked at that site that shows where all the registered sex offenders live..there are some in EVERY neighborhood. Back in the 50s/60s or when I grew up in the 70s, parents could believe there was no bad in the world. Today the media doesn't let you forget all the bad that's out there.

[@mdfield1]

@ And almost all of us were NOT FAT. The only fat friend on our street ended up having a medical condition. She now weighs half the weight.

[@geakerleaker]

Im 19 from orange county, and I took the city bus to school on and off, and in I used to be outside all day with my friends in the neighborhood. It seems like the things you describe are now more associated with growing up broke or just lower middle class in america. wierd

[@mdfield1]

@ We didn’t have computers, the Internet, or video games so we made our own games. Interestingly, between K-12 and two years at Golden West College, there were no guns, knives, or even cops called to any school I attended.

[@garyi.1360]

I don't think she states anything which can be taken as what happens across all the US. It's only her experience. I know so many who had it different and who raise their kids also differently.

[@meganleffingwell3437]

Those webs she was talking about were So fun when I was growing up! Now I'm 26 and they don't have them around me anymore! 😂

[@MarySwords-u8v]

Back in the 90s when I was in 11th and 12th grade I didn't have to take 2 classes because I work at the grade school serving lunch for the little kids. And got Graded and paid for doing it. I Loved it ❤

[@AB-up6gf]

I did similar in the 80s...I was a 'cadet teacher', so worked as a teacher's aide in the elementary school. I got graded, but they didn't pay me....

[@Oprhan87]

I grew up on a horse ranch. I was saddling up my horse to go off for the day and off to hanging out with friends when my horse got me there by the time I was 8. Sometimes I would drive the lawn mower, or take the hay truck at 12 to my friends house. I grew up in the country of Wisconsin near Sheboygan. She's lived a city life. Us country folk that live in the United States live a lot differently.

[@Oprhan87]

This was in the late 90's

[@ShawtyzBack777]

My pops would do ONE assignment for me every yr from 4-8 grade. It was only because our PE teacher would give us an assignment to watch a football game and answer questions on it. I hated football and my pops watched most games so he'd give me the answers and I'd write em down lol Sorry Mr. Morrison 😂

[@revgurley]

Imagine metal slides in Florida heat. And back in the day, shorts were shorter than is fashion now, so you always burned the skin on the back of your thighs. How adults thought this was a good idea is beyond me.

[@edithdufoe853]

When I was in grade school we walked home. In middle school I walked 2 miles and by the time I reached high school I rode 2 rode two city buses after walking a mile from home. We weren't coddled by our parents. They gave us freedom to make our mistakes and learn from them!!

[@SuzA8110]

LOL! In the 60's-70's during summer break I would get up at 7am, grab some Pop Tarts, my transistor radio and run out the door. I'd jump on my bike (barefoot & no helmet) and roam around the city (approx 80,000 people) looking for things to do. Back home when the streetlights came on. First through sixth grade, I walked to and from school every day, rain or shine. It was 8-10 blocks and I had to cross the main street in town which was 45 mph (no stop lights). My parents never checked or helped with my homework. I usually did my home assignments while watching Dark Shadows and Ryans Hope on TV. I still got 4.0 all years in high school and was 3rd in my class of 500. We learned to be self-sufficient, how to deal with people, navigate through different situations and create our own fun with no $$$.

[@xmmaureennx]

In many places in America classes can have around 30 kids. Parents should help with homework so they can reinforce the teaching at home. Kids involved in extracurricular activities need good grades to participate. Also, keeping kids in sports and other activities helps to keep them safe from some of the pitfalls of adolescence, like gangs and drugs. This is my experience, though, not everyone's.

[@AB-up6gf]

We have a hypercompetitive society. If you want your children to compete, they have to start preparing young in whatever discipline. Kids that do travelling sport leagues devote a lot of time to practice and games...not to mention the preparation for Olympic level athletes. Teaching children to devote as much time to academics as some parents do to athletics should just be common sense. Most teachers only have your child for one year, but they (and their future) is a parents responsibility for their entire life. I'm not advocating doing school work for a child, but saying that if you have Little League practice for 2 hours a week and you make sure you get them to every practice and they are prepared for every game, put the same level of effort into their spelling tests.

[@harvestmoon_autumnsky]

@@AB-up6gf Wow. As a teacher, I applaud this philosophy. I've had kids tell me they're super tired in class because they had soccer and then swimming after school the day before.

[@kennethvaughan8195]

Parents doing my homework ??? Had she met my mother she would’ve had different opinions but my dad was like,” help him out mama so he can graduate and get out and get a job !” I did my senior year twice so you know who won that discussion. Lol

[@BrianPasko]

This girl is nuts idk where she grew up but it definitely wasn't by me

[@renee176]

Its odd and amazes me how people will have their experience and think that the whole of the United States is exactly like what they have experienced. Funny how things are too safe?

[@helengibbs3862]

I had to take city busses to school had to change busses 3 times to school and 3 transfers back

[@likemeordont5951]

Her disclaimer at the end did nothing to neurralize her negative opinions of the American people. Listing her negative observations compared to her home country, comes off as if her research was extensive, and not actually limited to where she has lived, and what she thinks she saw her friends parents do with their kids.