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Commentary By Nicole Gelinas

NYC’s Dangerous Transit System Is Harming Kids by Putting Their Rite of ‘Passage’ at Risk

Kids can't develop well if they can't take some risks, and make some judgments outside of adult supervision.

Even in the boom years, raising kids in New York City wasn’t easy: Apartments are tiny, neighbors hate noise and sidewalks are too narrow for strollers. 

But today, as disorder has taken over the subways, parents face another logistical headache: How should my growing kid get around town, whether on the transit system, on foot or in a car, without putting herself in danger? 

Over two generations, kids in the suburbs have lost their freedom to move autonomously: Young teens who once would’ve walked or biked to school take the school bus or are driven by their parents. 

That’s not good: Kids can’t develop well if they can’t take some risks, and make some judgments outside of adult supervision. 

In the city, though, kids still enjoy a measure of autonomy, largely because of our transit system.

Continue reading the entire piece here at the New York Post

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Nicole Gelinas is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and contributing editor at City Journal. Follow her on Twitter here.

Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images