Several have already written what I thought of first - playing outside, no adults, just being with friends. And I lived my first 9 years in New York City! We were safe, everyone on the block knew every kid. My father had a car, always a spot in front of our building, and if it rained my friends and I would just get in the car to play, it was never locked. The freedoms of childhood continued when we moved to NJ. Kids would be somewhere in town with their friends, parents never worried, and when the 8 p.m. siren went off that meant time to start for home. Parents walking you to and from school? Maybe the first few days of kindergarten. After that, you walked with your friends.