Had a few minutes to kill while hanger steak was on the grill. Started watching a random show on Netflix called Old Enough. Japanese show, each episode is about 5 minutes.

It's basically 3-4 year old kids venturing out on their own (close to home, walking distance, maybe 0.5 mile) running errands by themselves.

Cute. Kids are kind of smart and yet also forgetful (what did I need to buy?). Very polite and well mannered. Safety seems like it would be a concern but I guess the camera crew keeps them safe while mom stays at home.

Very fluffy and not really recommending it. Just a nice casual change of pace. No politics, no corruption. Just little kids growing up.

Free range kids.

I had to look up that term - didn't even know it was a term.

We've seen it on TV Japan a number of times.

It's kind of a semiannual show.

Little kids are asked by their mothers to run an errand and the film crews "secretly" capture their cute and oftentimes dramatic adventures... everyone is in on it.

Haven't seen the program, but there was a time when that wasn't very unusual around these parts. I recall, as a child of 5-6, my mom and dad sending me for errands to the store. Heck, there were times mom would send us to buy her cigarettes. Still cracks me up that they sold them to us.

I'm pushing 71. I remember when I was in 1st Grade (about 6 yrs old) the kids would all walk to school,walk home for lunch and back, and walk home at the end of school (just outside of Chicago). I would always run errands on foot or my bicycle, Getting my parents cigarettes was no problem when I was sent with a note.

When I went to HS we had a rifle Club with a indoor range in the rotunda basement. I would bring my Remington Nylon 66 to school and put it in my locker every Friday.
How things have changed.

Yup, that's my point. Times have changed.

At least in these parts, it's rare to see young children out and about. 3 years old is too young to be out w/o supervision. So the show is a little artificial since the staff was supervising and ensuring safety at arms length.

But when I'm in Japan, it's common to see elementary kids walking on streets and on public buses/trains traveling to school / cram school (juku). Ages where it's uncommon to see kids by themselves around here (in fact, it's more common to see them encompassed in an almost armored suburban with soccer mom at the helm).

I'm not sure when kids show signs of independence here. But it sure doesn't seem like the days when I was a kid and I first learned how to ride a bike. After that, I was gone. I'd go as far as my legs could take me; just had to be home by dinner time. Or walking half a mile to the bus stop to catch the school bus (I remember in first grade the bus steps being a decent part of my overall height; it was a challenge getting on/off the bus).