Being a child in England...

[Megancleo]

Just read "school cancels playtime because of noise" and once again thought thank goodness my dc are not in UK. Don't get me wrong,I miss UK terribly but very confused by what seems to be normal childhood in UK these days. When we were dc we got dirty, climbed trees and spent alot of time outside. Here in Germany dc still do this bur in Uk I hear only safey issues, class issues (oh to have a child who dresses wrong) and the worries and concerns of mainstream parents who have forgot what childhood should be about.

Where on earth did you read that? It sounds like one isolated incident that has been blown up out of all proportion by the Fail or the Scum.

My children are having a perfectly normal childhood FTR, including digging in dirt, running round the playground, riding bikes in the street and picking up snails and caterpillars.

here

And there in Germany it's illegal to home educate except in very rare circumstances.

I know where I would rather live.

YABU. You do not know how every child is growing up in the UK; you cannot make this sort of rash, crass judgement based a few articles, there are almost 12 and a half million children in the UK, FGS.

Yabu. For the 3rd day running I have had to put DS's clothes to soak in a bucket in the kitchen. He has been out playing all day and his clothes are covered in mud and grass stains.

I think you have a rather skewed view, OP, and you are making something of a vast, sweeping, generalisation.

FWIW my dd also gets covered in mud / grass stains on a regular basis.

it's an extreme thing to happen that's why it gets on the news

It's one of those situations that is so extreem that it hits the news, the worry is when it doesn't hit the news.

Of course I know there are dc that do play wih snails and caerpillars in UK too and I'm not out to make generalisations, its just airing a nagging concern I've had over the last ten years when visiting uk that childhood seems to have slipped into a mass of safety issues (at my sisters dc school they can't skip with a rope anymore and seem to spend more time in playtime watching videos)and an obsession with keeping them quiet and little adults. Could be just the uk population I mix with....vallhala, you've got a point (alhough mine didn't go to KG and then school is so short) but don't you somehow think children stay children longer in Germany?

it's ok as we make up for it by letting them loose around shopping malls on a saturday

Megan, could it be that if you miss the Uk then feeling that your dc are better off elsewhere helps you to feel better?

In which case YANBU, it is just a kind of mental safety net, if that makes sense. Being judgey is often a way of coping with circumstances in our own lives we don't like, I do it myself.

good point spiritmum.

yabu
all countries do some weird stuff.
I doubt if Germany is perfect

I heard through the grapevine (reliable source), that one of the individuals who complained is actually a childminder!

I grew up in Germany and there were lots of rules about noise levels at certain times of day, e.g. No mowing the lawn on a Sunday afternoon. This also meant that we weren't allowed to play outside on our bikes at certain times. Admittedly this was 20 odd years ago, but demonstrates that we're not the only country with rules and regs!!

YANBU
A summary of Unicefs child well being report.

Unicefs full report

This a terrible place for children to grow up, we would leave like a shot if we could.

Funny. Because I read about parks and playareas, and a pretty bloody fabulous education system and NHS and tax credits, and benefits available to the less well-off, and house prices that are about a twentieth of what they are here and cheap clothes with no VAT for kid's stuff (Have just spent 52 euro on a bog standard school backpack and that was reduced from 72) and I think I wish to God I lived in England.

Horses and courses. And ruminations on the colour of the grass I suppose.

Anyone care to do a swapsy?

I can honestly say that I think my DD is getting an excellent childhood. She spends her whole time happy and healthy, with so few cares in the world. If you asked y DD about her current childhood yeas she wold definitely say they are good.

But if you only gather info about a place from the media, you will build up a false image.

Okay you are at one of the two classic Expat stages. There is "Everything is so much better in blighty" and the "Blighty has gone to hell in a dustcart".

The UNICEF report has been taken seriously, but lots of kids have a great time. My kids have a much better time at school than I did, including lots of outdoors learning (for boys and girls).

The UNICEF report also has to be taken in context. UK kids are taught to be cynical, and reveal in being negative, whereas kids in other countries are socialised to put a more positive spin on things. If you just look at literature and films, in the UK school is supposed to make you miserable, but in the US it is supposed to be the best years of your life (and everyone is supposed to have a great time).

No where is perfect. Any problems you have you will take with you where-ever you go; and don't believe everything you read in the papers!

Berlin allows children to make a noise

It's only as recently as February this year that Berlin granted exemption status to children wishing to make a noise on Sundays. Other parts of Germany still class children as part of a 'noise pollution' problem and there are hundreds of complaints annually, apparently.

I think the UK has the balance about right.

Mummytime- Dara O Briain makes that point (when talking about the UNICEF report) in his Tickling the English book- that in the UK people are almost conditioned to think everything is rubbish, that children lead a dreadful life and grow up to be dreadful people.

Personally, I feel, rightly or wrongly, that children in the UK are generally regarded as an irritation by a lot of people. I find that offensive and prejudicial and think that they should be valued and cherished, I know I'm not alone.