SecondAvenueSagas picks up on the debate about at what age a child should be allowed to ride the subway by himself. SecondAve estimates he was 12 when he undertook this Gotham rite of passage.
To me, riding the subways alone was a non-event. It was just another part of living in and growing up in New York City. We learn to cross the street alone; we learn to go to school alone; we learn to take the subways alone. We survive and thrive.
The debate stems from NY Sun columnist (who knew the Sun was still publishing?) Lenore Skenazy’s decision to let her then 9-year-old son find his way home alone from Bloomingdale’s via subway. (For the record, the lad made detours to Show World Center, Guns R Us and the 99-cent crack store on 28th and 11th, but did, in fact, make it home alive.)
SecondAve says such life lessons for young people are valuable, and most of his commenters agree.
I grew up with my parents’ trust. They allowed me to ride the subways by myself, and I grew to love the subways because these underground trains shepherded me around the city. But at the same time, they also taught me how to ride the subway from an early age. They taught me how to read the subway map and where to wait for trains. They taught me to avoid empty cars and ride with the conductor. That’s still sound advice now that I’m far removed from my 12-year-old self.
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