to think children in the UK are getting an increasingly short childhood?

[Feminine]

That really?

Having been abroad for 6-ish years ...it strikes me that they do.

For example, if poster is talking about an 8 yr old ,then without fail, many posts will say things like : "Oooh 8 , thats almost a TEEN ,so yes I would let them walk home from school on their own ...prepares them for secondary"

As I am tired and have a cold ,that is the only example I can come up with right now..but I am just struck by how fast (on many subjects) kids in the UK are sometimes encouraged to "grow -up"

I am not talking about keeping them as babies ...mine are independent ,but here(US) kids are allowed to be just that, kids!

Oddly I see a completely different view on MN and all around me

I see perfectly healthy, able bodied children driven to and from school and all their activities rather than have their independance encouraged.

I see kids who are not allowed to play out because 'they're only 8'

I see kids who are not expected to know what day of the week it is because 'they're only 4'

I think many kids are being held back by their parents compared to years ago because less seems to be expected of them now.

how does walking home from school (or not) limit childhood?

I agree OP. They're made to start school so young, and are expected to be so independent and capable, when they really aren't ready. I'm sure I'm not the only parent who has to wash pooey pants because DS can't wipe himself properly.

And don't get me started on homework!

I think children are moddle coddled and babied a lot more today then they ever were.

When i was 7 i was walking myself home from school, letting myself in to an empty house and getting on with peeling the potatoes ready for tea when my mum came in. Now 40 years on parents wont even leave a 12 year old in the house alone and would be ringing social services over things which were the norm for my childhood.

Really? I find mainland UK kids so bubblewrapped that they arent allowed to be anything other than an extension of their mothers.

they don't start school any earlier than I did and I'm in my 40's.
I was much more independent as a child than my ds's.
Homework in primary school is a waste of time I agree.

I agree with worraliberty and totally disagree with the op. When I was growing up children and young adults were givem far more responsibility and grew up much faster. The majority of young people started work at 15, and many people were married in their late teens, often starting a family of their own, with little help from the state.

really in america kids are allowed to be just kids?
haha and you let your kids watch the disney channel

i think your op is daft and over generalised

Interesting so far ...thanks.

I realize my example was quite lousy but I am hoping someone more awake can see what I am talking about... or not obviously.

Walking home from school is a part of childhood, just having space to be, with your friends, dawdling, chatting, laughing....

I don't get your example.

Do you mean that British kids are being exposed to images/media/films/tv etc which is encouraging them to grow up before they would have previously? If so then I agree. We live in NZ at the moment and kids here tend to grow up at a much slower pace than my relatives in the UK.
We watch less tv and so they are less aware of music groups and how they should be dressing. They play out more on their own (building dens/camps/playing imaginary games) and have less pressure on them to be wearing particular clothes or owning the latest game.
My cousins kids (in the UK) are far more influenced by the media. The seven year old wants to wear makeup and is highly aware of what clothes she should be wearing.
I realise that this is a huge generalisation but this is just my observation. So yes OP I do agree with you.

People in the good old days walked home from school a lot younger than the youth of today so if thats a measure then surely childhood is getting longer. My mum walked herself to school on her first day, age 4.

I think the youth of today have a weird combination of not having any real independence wrt playing out or being in the house alone or using a knife or a blowtorch and being exposed to adult things that weren't much of an issue in the days of yore, like drugs and expensive gadgetry. Its a different childhood but its still childhood.

What has the Disney channel got to do with it?

I might be over generalizing ...thats why I said sometimes

I think childhood in UK is a funny mixture.

Kids have far less responsibility than in the frecent past and are mollycuddled.
But they also seem to have a much reduced stretch of time to just play and be kids.

Both my dcs are pushed to be independant, think for themselves, take responsibility for their actions, tidy up, do the dishes, make their own food etc.

but

They are still children and aren't exposed to violence, drugs, porn, endless rows, being dumped or unsuitable media output which some children are.

YANBU at all, I do see it on MN a lot. A lot is expected of children so young, there was one thread on here about a month ago from a poster who was thinking of getting the Mog book about him dying for her 2 year old . No reason really but it is too young for a toddler to understand something so complex as death and they should not have to know about it at such a young age if they don't have to. It seems as though there is no age restriction to things, anything goes. Seems as though there is a rush to educate young children on life as soon as they are out of nappies, whatever happened to just letting kids be kids and letting them learn about life as they go along

Kids are sexualised a lot earlier - but heyho - if you want to buy your Hello/OK mags with Katie Price and her tits pointing at you, or watch too much inappropriate TV then I woudl agree that the loss of innocence is entirely a different thing.

Fem

Try to come up with some other examples, it's hard to debate without more to go on...

I think a lot of the individuality of childhood has been lost - too many benchmarks, tickboxes, random criteria to fulfil. Childhood is being homogenised.
Einstein didn't speak till he was 4. Stephen Hawking didn't read till he was 8.

I remember the idiot who ran my son's pre-school telling me that he was "making terrific progress with his skill set."
How I stopped myself from saying "Oh fuck off you overqualified numpty - he is barely 2 years old - I only send him here for a couple of hours to play with the duplo" I'll never know.

Toddlers (for example) here (for ages) are wonderfully indulged (not by me ) and treated as tiny and accepted as still babies.

I don't get that feeling in the UK?

original you are right ...I should have posted in the morning :)

I'm thinking...

I echo hiddenhome.

There are some things it is healthy for children to be exposed to- being independent, helping with chores, etc and others it is positively negative for them to come across- porn, excess involvement in emotional matters for which they are not ready (eg being forced to take sides in a parental divorce), inappropriate viewing or games, etc...

I agree that some children grow up too fast in some ways - provocative clothing, exposure to sex in the media etc.

I also agree that some children are mollycoddled too much - not getting to play out, having everything done for them.

The scary thing is that it's often the same children in each group, and it's the combination of these two factors that make it so harmful - the gap between what children feel they should be on the outside, and what they are like on the inside, is widening.

Esta I think you should have asked her what on earth that meant in plain English.

I think they are forgiven for childish behaviour more.

By that I mean ,you will often hear people say "Oh she is just a 4th grader , let her be"

kids here are proud to be kids ...ie they are quite happy to admit to enjoying childish characters/shows etc...