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Walk down a quiet American street a few decades ago, and chances were good that you’d come across a vision of the Spielbergian sort: a gaggle of school-age children charging down the block on bikes, armed with a steely sense of purpose, and without any protective headwear.

You’re less likely to catch that kind of scene today. Over the course of the 1990s, an average of 20.5 million children ages 7 to 17 hopped on a bike six or more times a year, according to data from the National Sporting Goods Association, a sports-equipment trade group. Only a few decades later, that number has fallen by nearly half, to about 10.9 million in 2023. Of those kids, according to the association, just less than 5 percent rode their bikes “frequently.”

With this decline, kids are losing more than a potential mode of transport. Biking supports children’s independence and overall health in a way that many activities cannot. It’s a great way to get moving and build strength, and can improve coordination and balance. Like many types of fitness, it can help reduce children’s future chances of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. But compared with some of the other ways that children get exercise, such as team sports, it’s much more affordable (especially if you buy a used bike) and, crucially—once kids are trained—doesn’t require as much effort from adults.

The thought of their kids traveling solo might get some parents wringing their hands, and for good reason. Biking can be risky, and finding an appropriate place to practice can be tricky in the city or in the suburbs. But if parents can find safe environments for teaching their children to navigate streets confidently on their own, the amount of freedom those kids will gain is invaluable. On a bike, a child gets to choose where to go and how to get there without having to check in with a parent, which lets them practice making decisions. As they ride more, the activity can even start to rewire their brain, helping them form spatial maps of their neighborhood and develop the kind of competence and knowledge that can seed lasting resilience and self-esteem.

Kids aren’t the only ones who benefit when they start getting around on two wheels. When enough children bike—or simply get outside—whole neighborhoods can be transformed. Research has shown that when children play in the open, whether they’re riding a bike, kicking a ball, or merely puttering, parents feel more of a connection to their neighbors, and many people begin to feel safer.

As fewer kids venture out, however, neighborhoods can lose those social ties. Many people blame smartphones for this trend. But as Esther Walker, the research leader at the nonprofit youth-cycling organization Outride, told me, “I’ve never read or heard a student say they just would prefer to be on their phone.” Kids do want to bike, Nancy Pullen-Seufert, the director of the government-funded program the National Center for Safe Routes to School, told me—but conditions on many streets don’t exactly inspire confidence. Walker regularly speaks with middle schoolers in Outride’s programs, and she told me that although they crave mobility, many also say that the traffic in their neighborhood makes riding too dangerous or that their parents won’t let them go on their own.

In many places, this fear is well founded. American roadways have gotten faster and busier. Since the 1990s, speed limits have ticked upward. Each year (minus a few temporary dips), drivers have progressively clocked more collective miles and driven ever larger cars. According to a 2023 report by the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, “Over the past 30 years, the average U.S. passenger vehicle has gotten about 4 inches wider, 10 inches longer, 8 inches taller and 1,000 pounds heavier.” These machines may be protecting drivers and passengers, but they can be much more intimidating to people on bikes. The annual number of children killed on bikes has actually fallen, a 2021 CDC report found, but the report acknowledges that this is likely in part because fewer kids are out riding. The decrease in kids’ deaths seems reflective not of streets’ safety—an SUV, the most dominant car in the U.S. market, is eight times more likely than a sedan to kill a child—but rather of parents’ understanding of the danger that big cars pose.

Families haven’t always had to be this vigilant. Children in previous decades may not have had designated bike lanes, complete sidewalks, or other protective features now common on many American roads. But they had more space to wander, fewer and slower cars to contend with, and safety in numbers as throngs of children dependably roamed about the neighborhood. It wasn’t until public planning began to prioritize cars that children lost not only areas to play but also the freedom to get to places on their own. Tellingly, the share of K–8 students walking or biking to school fell from 48 percent in 1969 to just 13 percent in 2009, according to a 2011 report prepared by the National Center for Safe Routes to School.

By adding more bike-friendly infrastructure—lower traffic speeds, separated bike lanes, calmer intersections—local governments could encourage children and other residents to start riding again. In the interim, teaching children how to share the road with drivers is mostly up to caregivers. Finding safe-enough spots for practice might be tough in some cities. But with a little creativity, parents can track down dead ends, streets closed to cars, unused parking lots, or parks with paved pathways to let their kids spread out and find their bearings in relatively calm surroundings.

Putting in that work may demand more of parents in the short term. But as a mom whose 9-year-old recently began riding, I would argue that the investment of time and attention is worth it. In my reporting, I’ve heard over and over from parents about how desperately they want to raise confident and resilient kids. Many opt for a packed calendar of extracurriculars, most of which require an adult to act as chauffeur and supervisor. Yet kids don’t tend to flourish when they’re being shuttled around and monitored by adults. What many need is a bit more freedom: time to do as they please, to pedal aimlessly—until, one day, they’re ready to take off.

About the AuthorErin SagenErin Sagen is a freelance journalist who covers parenting, health, and culture. She has written for The New York Times, Slate, and more.Explore More TopicsChildhood & Adolescence, exercise and fitness, parenting