Free Range Kids?

This month's Brainchild Magazine featured a fascinating essay by a Montana mother who was arrested for letting her 12 year old bring younger siblings to the mall, without an adult. Susan Linn recommended the book Free Range Kids, (also a blog) but I have been a bit put off by some of the romanticizing of the "good old days" when kids ran free in the wild, since I think there was also a survival of the fittest / Lord of the Flies element to peer socialization that we want to circumvent for good reasons. I'm more sympathetic to the Brainchild story because the mom is a little less sure of herself, and a little more tired -- she lets the kids go because she reaches her own limit AND thinks it is fine (enough). I believe in the tenants of "good enough parenting" and think each of us will sort out the boundaries depending on our own temperments and experiences and those of our children... and yet, still, there are community norms and guidelines, too, that matter... At what age can kids roam Mackworth Island without an adult? At what age can kids be free on the playground with supervision? At what age can kids be left alone in the car while a parent runs in? At what age can kids be left home alone? So many questions without clear answers... I'd love to hear how others in our community are sorting it out!