If you asked any of our elders, When is the right time to let your child go alone to the bodega? They would say, as soon as they can carry a note and hold a bag.
Talking was not a perquisite to run errands, although memorizing the shopping list was an important rite of passage. Some kids could do that way before they could read or write. Running errands was your stepping stone towards adulthood and independence.
I was told I started running errands when I was still being breastfed. To be fair with my mom, I was big enough (for their standards), it was just that I refused to let go of breast milk. According to some accounts, I was three and counting. I would go to Plutarco’s bodega, just wearing underpants; I’d drop the note, grab the bag, bring it to mom, and ask for my milk as an errand-running compensation, I guess.
Paradoxical as this long-term breastfeeding practice may look, these women knew how to combine natural feeding (a guarantee of health and familial bonding) with independence-minded child raising (letting you feel that you could do grownup stuff).
There were risks, of course, even back in the day, in sending small children to run errands, especially in their undies, but I do not recall anything more serious than dropping the breakfast bread in a puddle after a rainy day, or getting the wrong items, which translated into running back to the bodega, falling down (because you were now in a rush), and getting a bruised knee.
Parents back then understood that any setback in that independence process was learning and a small price to pay. It was tough-love days. However, the whole community contributed to making the process as smooth as possible. It really took a village to raise a kid. Now that I think about it, the reason for grocers to sell items like power milk, corn flour, oil, beans, and the like in small amounts was not so much that people could not afford the whole kilo or liter of the original package, but that there were small feeble children running the errands. It was easier for any kid to carry small amounts of anything home and save the day.
Going alone to the bodega was a blast, especially when the bodeguero was nice and you could kindly ask for a ñapa, an extra something in any items you had purchased (piece of cheese, an extra fruit) or an aside treat like a candy or chewing gum. Those were the incentives that moved the errand-running industry back then.
Now kids feel very independent to reject parental control of any kind, but they can’t help with house chores or have no clue how, where or when to shop for the best groceries for the house. They can’t even interact outside the comfort of their virtual spaces. When we went to the bodegas alone, we were just interacting with a whole community on own terms. Kids now may be surrounded by physical or virtual people, but they have never been more alone.
Thanks for your reading
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