So true, so different these days. The first sports car I remember seeing was a Triumph TR3 parked in a neighbor's yard down around the corner. I would wake up before everybody else in the summer and go roam the neighborhood. I remember doing that in the early days of summer when mornings we're just barely warm and loving it.
Walked to grade school with my sister, starting in first grade, she was in third, by ourselves, including crossing a busy street.
Yes, in the summer the rule was go out and play until it got dark, with breaks for meals and snacks (my favorite memories are summer vacations as a kid). The one good thing about Covid, last spring and summer, lots of kids out doing unsupervised play in their yards, always made me smile.
Mom made one meal for everybody, and everybody ate it, though I griped about having to eat my vegetables, soggy from a can, still don't like them much.
In this day and age some of these practices might be considered poor parenting or neglectful, my parents were both wonderful involved loving always and stern when needed and I had a great childhood.