“Well, You Feel More Responsible When You’re Unsupervised”: Exploring Family Perspectives on Children’s Independent Mobility

Editorial reading guide · Independence

What might my child notice on a walk that I miss when deciding where they can go?

This article examines how children and caregivers describe responsibility when a child goes out unsupervised. Here independence concerns permission to take an actual journey or play without direct supervision, within the conditions of a particular place.

Who was studied?

Forty-four parents and 22 children contributing interviews, including walks with children.

Age / stage: School age

Read with three questions

1. What does the article establish about how children and caregivers describe responsibility when a child goes out unsupervised?
2. Who supplied the account, and where did participants describe a different experience from one another?
3. How closely does the population described here match the family or setting you have in mind? The population to compare is forty-four parents and 22 children contributing interviews, including walks with children.

Keep the limits in view

The accounts show how the participants understood these experiences. They do not estimate how common those experiences are among other families.