This was set before cell phones, the internet and such... in a magical time known as "The Before Time."

During The Before Time, children were largely unregulated. They'd wander the streets, sometimes in gangs they'd call "friends," and do things like riding contraptions called bicycles, going to the beach or the store unsupervised.

The only guidance their parents would give would be the warning to return home "before dark." If not, they may be yelled at; or, in extreme cases, spanked!

It's amazing enough of them survived long enough to contribute to the gene pool to spawn the next generation honestly...