World

25percent of ten-year-olds are never allowed to play on their own

by Amy Judd | April 3, 2008 at 09:10 am

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I remember playing outside when I was young and loving every minute of it. I used to play outside with my friends from morning until dinner, and my parents never worried about what was going to happen to me.
Now I'm not that old and times have changed so drastically since I made the street my personal playground.
The UK is trying to do something about it now.

Ministers are concerned that children now have fewer opportunities than ever to play outdoors thanks to over-zealous health and safety crackdowns and a "no ball games here" culture.

Mr Balls unveiled the figures today as he launched the consultation to create a blueprint to improve play areas.

Research has found that the average age at which children are allowed outside without adult supervision has risen from around seven years in the 1960s and 70s to just over eight years now.

One in three parents will not even allow older children, aged eight to 17, to play outside the house or garden.

No doubt, modern technology is partly to blame for this development as well.

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duo

at 23:01 on April 3rd, 2008

We live in a dangerous culture, and too often, children are targeted victims. Therefore, I never let my children outside alone until they were teenagers. I would create situations where they could feel like they were playing free like I used to do as a girl. I would take them to large open-area playgrounds without trees and bushes and tell them to stay within my range of vision. They could run around there and feel pretty independent. My daughter checked our neighborhood on the pedophile/sexual criminals list, and surprisingly, there a about seven or eight registered right in our area -- within five miles of our home! This is why parents have to be "overprotective" in the 21st Century.

Interesting story! Thanks for sharing it!

Mary