2026
February 19th
Most Kids Aren’t Allowed to Venture Far By Themselves
How far do you let your kid walk alone? A newly released report from IFS scholars Lyman Stone, Michael Toscano, and Ken Burchfiel shows how far parents allow their children to walk or bike unaccompanied. 14-year-old children are typically allowed to walk less than half of a mile from home. Even for 17-year-olds, most parents do not allow their child to walk more than a mile away from home. The report finds that children raised to be more independent, with greater freedom to venture from home alone, and less tech time have better mental health outcomes. At the same time, the authors find that parents are more likely to report that parenting is hard when raising their children in more independent and low-tech households.
