> Why did you have to be a 24/7 presence for your kids?

1) Like most kids here, my 5 had nowhere to go. They step out of the house and in every direction is a road and a trespassing risk.

What there wasn't: A large selection of (or any) places kids could safely reach and congregate every day without a risk of harm by cars or misguided adults (like police).

2) My wife and I risked arrest if my kids were seen without a supervising adult. Like all the other parents.

> Your parents let you roam everywhere and that worked fine?

It didn't just work fine, it was where most of my critical growth happened. It's where I learned to sort problems, work with peers, concoct and carry out plans, develop new interests based on actual experiences and navigate an endless array of complex situations.

It's where I developed the foundations that nurture mental health.

> The only thing kids actually require is food, water, and shelter.

If this is all kids have then they are likely experiencing neglect.

> Everyone in the modern world can do that (have reliable access to food+water+shelter).

This is wholly false. Me+kids frequently ate nothing but white rice for most of the 2010s. We sometimes couldn't afford rice. If it was during a school month, the kids could still eat twice. If not, then they didn't.

We barely stayed housed. The water was cut off more than once.

This is the US and our story is pretty common.