I've noticed the less American and less wealthy people are, the more normal their kids interact with the world, i.e. "free range".

I don't know what it is about rich white people and freaky helicopter parenting. I also notice it with homeschooling and those crazy borderline eating disorder diets. There seems to be an association there between rich white people and pushing self-destructive behavior on kids.

I personally don’t see its being a case, based on my observation.

There is this town nearby where I live - super white, gives old money type of vibe, very expensive real estate. It’s full of free range kids running around on the streets.

It was shock to me to see it, after our diverse suburb, where kids pretty much either locked at home doing homework or at classes all the times.

So in my opinion there is definitely a cultural aspect of it.

Might be different in Australia vs the US, but the white kids here are definitely more "free range" than the Asians.

That's not too say they're not helicoptered too, but Chinese parents are a whole other level.

Think strapping a 3-4 year old into a high chair and handfeeding them, or scheduling every waking moment of a primary school kid's life.