'Playing out'

Jagraf

balletshoes wrote: »

the OP's one? yes, i read it.

Her school mates frequently wonder around the estate / play in the playground / go to the shop etc with no adults. Some friends will be out from straight after school till it gets dark. I'm not talking being in the same street - in some cases its probably a good half mile - possibly more -( OK I just used Google maps - one child goes from her home to the main playground and its actually 1 mile away! )


This bit ....

meritaten

the thing is - the perception of 'danger' seems to be that parents now think a child under 16 is not safe unless they have a 'responsible adult' hovering over them.
its no different than its ever been. in my childhood - we went through a period when our parents suddenly became PARANOID. this was when Brady and Hindley were charged with the Moors Murders. all of a sudden our freedom was stopped. and this continued all through the trial until they were jailed. then we were allowed out to play again. this reinforces my belief that its the 'media' which influences parents perceptions of 'safety' for their children.
Child abduction and murder is such a RARE crime - that of course the press go nuts. but it puts such fears in parents minds. and it would be a shame if children were not allowed to go out and play and BE children because parents are overcome with fear. because there is such a LOT of reporting now with 24 hour news channels and news from other countries.

Jagraf

Not many people have really talked about the danger, its more about the definition of playing.

I too used to paddle in the brook in the summer evenings, looking for sticklebacks. But we also played badminton and tennis in back gardens with veg nets tied from one tree to another. Great memories.

But from what I see, and I have a park and a street a stones throw away, most kids are hanging around the shops. And the parents of these kids call it playing, or learning to be independent. It's a bit like putting veg on a kids plate and ignoring the fact that they're not eating it. They're not playing.

balletshoes

Jagraf wrote: »

I've never seen children really misbehaving.
I've seen them totally bored, hanging around the shops, cars having to break for skateboards and rollerskates, sitting on people's walls, footballs hitting people's parked cars.

I don't see it as playing, I see it as parents using the excuse that their kids are playing.

On the other hand I have seen parents and kids playing footy on the local field, together, getting loads of exercise and fresh air.

In my opinion, there's a big difference between the two.

Jagraf wrote: »

Not many people have really talked about the danger, its more about the definition of playing.

I too used to paddle in the brook in the summer evenings, looking for sticklebacks. But we also played badminton and tennis in back gardens with veg nets tied from one tree to another. Great memories.

But from what I see, and I have a park and a street a stones throw away, most kids are hanging around the shops.
And the parents of these kids call it playing, or learning to be independent. It's a bit like putting veg on a kids plate and ignoring the fact that they're not eating it. They're not playing.

how old are the kids you see "hanging around" Jagraf? I don't live in an affluent area, here the kids hanging around the shops are secondary school age, the primary kids are playing (and no, not hitting footballs off parked cars or whizzing about in the middle of the road on their bikes/scooters/boards etc).

Teenagers hanging about on the street isn't a new thing - my sister was a regular hanging-about'er in her teens, 30-odd years ago.

50Twuncle

balletshoes wrote: »

I understand times have changed - but have they really changed so much to cause such a swing in the way parents parent?

No - things have only changed a little (for the worse) - it is the papers and TV making everyone paranoid that has caused most of the perceived problems !