When driving our grandson to school last week (his morning sitter was unable to be there that day), both my husband and I were telling him that we were never driven to school by our parents. My husband grew up in the Los Angeles suburbs and always lived within a mile of his school so he was a walker. I was raised in the NE US and walked to my first school, then caught school buses from 3rd grade until I started driving as a senior in HS. The bus stop was about 1/2 mile from our house. Everybody walked to the bus stops, regardless of the weather. Unaccompanied. God help any kid past kindergarten whose mother would have walked him to school or the bus stop.
Our grandson's eyes were as big as saucers. He couldn't imagine being that independent. Kids are always within arm's reach of an adult these days. Big Brother will be a seamless transition from Big Parents.
It was a different era. I drove my kids to school, but we lived 7-8 miles from their (private) schools, so walking wasn't an option.