A 2023 review argues that declining childhood independence may contribute to poorer mental health, without proving one generation was better regulated

Memories of childhood freedom can make the 1960s and 1970s sound like a natural experiment in resilience. They are not, by themselves, a comparison of adult psychological outcomes across generations.

What the review argues

Peter Gray, David Lancy and David Bjorklund’s 2023 review in The Journal of Pediatrics assembles evidence for the argument that declining independent activity has contributed to declining mental well-being among young people.

Florida Atlantic University’s account describes the authors’ proposed links between self-directed activity, confidence and psychological resilience. The article reviews a range of evidence; it is not a controlled test showing that an entire older generation developed better self-regulation than children today.

A plausible contribution is not the whole explanation

Independent play can give children opportunities to make decisions and manage disagreements. That is a reason to examine the argument, without treating childhood freedom as the sole cause of later mental health or assuming that all children experienced the same conditions.

Parallel trends in supervision and mental health do not, alone, establish how much one caused the other. Nor do nostalgic descriptions establish which parenting practice worked best for a particular child.

Room to practise, with appropriate support

The useful discussion is about suitable opportunities for independence. It need not turn into praise for neglect or a claim that parental absence was the century’s most effective developmental tool.

A child’s circumstances matter when deciding what independence is appropriate. A historical anecdote about being allowed outside cannot settle that decision for a family now.

The review makes a substantive case worth considering. It should be presented as the authors’ argument and the evidence they assemble, rather than proof that modern parenting has undone a scientifically established advantage of people raised fifty years ago.

Correction, 3 October 2026: The earlier article treated a review’s causal argument as proof of superior self-regulation in children raised in the 1960s–70s. It did not establish that generational comparison. Unsupported cohort conclusions and an unverified school-travel statistic have been removed.