Yeah it's definitely not like that now. I was walking to school on my own by 7. My daughter (6) walks to the bus stop on her own now. It's one house down to the corner, where she crosses a seldomly used side street, then the bus stop is in front of the house on that corner, if that makes sense. I was thinking about trying them out one day when I can keep an eye on them without them knowing I'm watching, to see if they try to leave the yard.