This bit is not supported by the quoted studies:
"We live in a culture of safetyism. And it’s largely an English speaking phenomenon."
If you look at page 14 of this:
https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/sites/default/files/files...
its far from clear.
I am also very dubious of the findings. The very low level of mobility in Sri Lanka contradicts what I see - especially relative to England. Most families do not have cars, for example. I suspect a bias to Anglophone affluent urban families.
I was wondering what the hell people here are talking about. Then I saw that my country (Finland) is number one on that list.
Indeed, my children (3 and 5 year old) run freely around the half hectare communal yard of my housing company (which includes 12 apartments). Almost all kids here go to school by themselves either by walking or by bike, starting at the age of seven. I also see kids around this age playing without adults in groups on streets and parks all the time.
City planning gets a lot of shit here, but apparently we did something correctly. It might also have something to do with cities here being generally safe. I'm probably just as concerned about my children's safety as parents in any country, but it just isn't that scary out there.
I agree, here in Chile, at least where I live, children play outside all the time. Maybe it's an internet thing where people have a massive disconnection from reality (To various degrees of course).
> It might also have something to do with cities here being generally safe.
Is the difference in actual safety or the perception of safety?
For example. Finland has a higher rate of traffic related deaths than the UK according to this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...
but kids in Finland have a lot more autonomous mobility.