I regret the loss of the service of
freedom that children had when I was
young.  I grew up in a small town and
was able to walk to the library, shopping
on the square, school, and parks.
TV was not a big influence, we only got
two channels and very little of the programming
was geared towards children.  In the
summer, we played pick-up baseball, 
tennis, and swam, at the community
pool, rivers and stone quarries.  Very
little was imitated or directed by
adults.  We could ride our bikes to
go fishing and we would pack up
gear and camp in the wood.  All 
of this was done without the hovering
I see from parents now or the service
of trepidation that I observe in 
present day children.
The only real rules we
observed as children were to be
home by dark and not to aggravate
or disrespect adults.