Kids playing outside

[Jiggy16]

Trying not to be a grouch, what time do people feel is acceptable for kids (10/15 maybe around the age 10ish?) playing outside in the evening, shouting and loud singing, sometimes with whistles.

@Jamboree01

Yes, it’s usually called real life for the majority of the population.

If children don’t have access to a garden, or a park, should they be confined indoors?

Again.

Shall we just lock up ‘working class’ children and be done with it?

Absolutely not. Their parents can take them to the park, to the woods, to the beach. They can enrol them in free or very cheap outdoor activities and encourage pro social behaviour. They can start addressing the class division of achievement and success.

I agree with the sad world comment- this plus teachers being “too busy” and intent on teaching grammar to acknowledge young children’s birthdays on another thread sad indictment on society!

My issue with large groups of unsupervised children is that they aren’t only at risk from traffic and from people with sinister intentions but also from one another.

There was an interesting documentary once about poverty in Britain. It’s old now (came out in the 2000s, I think) but the children roaming the streets was a theme and it was a problem.

@JeanneFrench

9.30pm week, 10.30pm weekend? I guess it's the same as other noise, e.g. playing music in your garden/with windows open or adults talking in a garden or in the street.

I absolutely would not let my 10yo play on the street until 9.30/10.30pm.

Why is is so hard for some people to understand that children can play out safely in some areas. We live rurally in a cul-de-sac and there must be 30 children who play out from the age of 5-15. The first thing that happens to a new child who moves in (new build street so it’s been filling up over time) is they get called for an start playing out. It’s brilliant! 9pm would be the latest here but I’d be going out and telling the kid with the whistle to shut up!

LemonRoses - you are right that many children children do not play out any more but is this such a good thing?
You have made so many sweeping generalisations and negative assumptions in your posts, that I thought a few evidence based facts might be useful.

From No fear, growing up in a risk averse society by Tim Gill (who has done extensive research on this)

The shrinking horizons of childhood
‘There is a widely held view that children grow up faster today. But, in fact, prior to adolescence their lives are far more controlled and overseen than 30 years ago.
In 1971 seven out of ten children aged seven or eight years went to school on their own. By 1990 this figure had dropped to less than one in ten.
In 1971 the average seven-year-old made solo trips to their friends or the shops. By 1990 that freedom was withheld until the age of ten.
Children today spend about four times as much being looked after by their parents as children did in 1975.

The role of risk in childhood
Through encountering risks, children learn how to overcome challenging situations, nurturing their character and fostering a sense of adventure, entrepreneurialism, resilience and self- reliance
Conclusion
Promoting resilience can be challenging, as it can appear as though children are expected to take charge of their own safety while society evades responsibility. However, unless we accept the need for children to develop the skills and experience to keep themselves safe, adults will feel under ever more pressure to intervene. At worst this could fuel a vicious circle where children’s alleged fragility provides the rationale for excessive interference, leading to a loss of experiential learning opportunities that in turn leaves children more vulnerable.’

You can read more here: gulbenkian.pt/uk-branch/publication/no-fear/

@LadyCatStark

Why is is so hard for some people to understand that children can play out safely in some areas. We live rurally in a cul-de-sac and there must be 30 children who play out from the age of 5-15. The first thing that happens to a new child who moves in (new build street so it’s been filling up over time) is they get called for an start playing out. It’s brilliant! 9pm would be the latest here but I’d be going out and telling the kid with the whistle to shut up!

There’s a simple answer to that: because it isn’t.

It might be safER than other places. You might personally deem it safe. It doesn’t mean that it is.

What actually makes it not safe? Can you explain?

In 1971, corporal punishment was acceptable, racism was just awful, sexism worse, child abuse was endemic. The last wasn’t some sort of utopia.

Thirty unsupervised children are largely at risk from one another.

lemon Nothing to do with money either. but surely you see that despite your lack of funds, a childhood with the opportunity to engage As older children, it was at the watersports centre where they worked, at friends houses, at the tennis club, at the rugby club or after orchestra in the recreation area. Their friends came to us to use the pool or play badminton etc. you then state the pool belongs to a school yet they 'came to us' so did you live on the grounds of the school?

Going back to OP: have you actually spoken to the kids? When you put your little ones to bed, just pop out and explain that you have younger children who need to sleep and could they play somewhere else.
However the whistle was a terrible idea, if my kids are ever given a whistle it’s gone straight in the bin....

Thirty unsupervised children are largely at risk from one another. what sort of risk? Have you any specific examples (ie things that have actually happened, not imaginary)

Oh wanda really, you think bullying is imaginary? Of course it isn’t.

Packs of unsupervised children do pretty quickly turn into lord of the flies without any sort of adult guidance or supervision, even supervision from a distance. That isn’t some sort of made up hysteria.

Of course I don’t think bullying is imaginary. However, I do think it is hysterical to assume that any group of kids playing out turns into lord of the flies ... (you do realise that was a fantasy novel don’t you?).
So is this something your own children have experienced?

Just pop out, smile and be friendly but ask them if they'd mind moving off a bit as your kids are in bed. Make a joke - and can we mute the whistle until tomorrow?!

I teach this age group and they're mostly lovely. I do wonder why they're still out at that time though. They should be getting to bed themselves. Even teens need 9-10 hours.

Our house is away from a street but if not I would be calling them (11 and 13) in for dinner at 6.30pm when we always eat and if they wanted to go and meet up in the park with their friends they could until dusk - but not right outside others' houses, no.

NB if I had them outside my house I'd politely ask them to pipe down after about 8 or earlier if I was trying to get small children to sleep.

I think you know that my ‘lord of the flies’ comment didn’t mean that the group of children would literally go to an island and start killing pigs. It was meaning that without adult supervision things between children can get quite nasty.

I have no plans to let my child play outside on the street with thirty other children. It isn’t a snobbish thing at all. My concerns would be that as I’ve said, children can become pretty nasty with one another. I remember some things like that from my own childhood. My parents probably thought in a misty eyed way I was outside playing and having a wonderful time and I actually remember being scared and upset a lot or the time.

There’s also risk involved with it. For all people insist their area is safe, it’s only safe until something horrible happens. All you need is one person with horrible intentions passing through a lovely quiet village and then that village isn’t lovely any more. I’m sure we can all think of cases like that.

Plus traffic, water ... I remember growing up with warnings not to climb electricity pylons or play on railway lines or go near canals. We don’t see those PIVs any more, because I think as a society we’ve realised the onus isn’t on children to be ‘sensible’ because they just aren’t. It’s on adults to keep them safe.

I tell ds and dss to stop playing out at 8 as I'm sure no-one wants to hear the football or basketball in the street after that.

My kids all played out. If they were having a hard time from other kids they would come and tell me.

The boy who lived next door was never allowed to play out. I felt bad for him on some days when all the other kids were out playing. His mum did think she was better than anyone else though.

I definitely don’t think I am better than anybody else.

Coven... trolls... any more names?

Your comment is disgraceful

Pro social behaviour?!!!!

What!?