The License for Independent Mobility of Schoolchildren

in the Context of Relations with Parents

Abstract

Independent mobility is considered to be an important factor in the development of children. Based on a survey of schoolchildren (N = 568), this article examines the formation of permissive and prohibitive settings for independent mobility depending on the formats of parental accompaniment and the self-visit of places by children. We reveal the link between those who accompany schoolchildren of different age groups (8–12, 13–17) in the most remote places from home and the most visited places, and the distance to these places. If schoolchildren visit places close to home alone, the distance from home to the most remote places is more pronounced for them than for schoolchildren who move independently away from home. However, if children are alone in the most remote places, frequently visited places are far away from home. The revealed relationship is described by the mechanisms of the near and distant radius of parental control. A joint visit with the parents (“near radius”) of remote locations contributes to the increase of the parent’s confidence in the independent mobility of the child, and as a consequence, of the distances of the places visited from the house. While an independent visit (“distant radius”) of nearby places also increases the distance of the most remote places, it is not on the basis of parental care, but on the successful experience of the children’s mobility.