To think that, actually, kids DO play out?

[BrittaPerry]

I'm sick and tired of Facebook posts, newspaper columns etc bemoaning that kids somehow never play out.

Every street I have ever lived in, and m job takes me walking and cycling round quite a few too, has had kids playing out. From about the age of 5 or 6, they are out on scooters, bikes, balls, or just doing kiddy things.

The parents just pop their heads out every now and again, and each child has a personal limit - it is quite funny to see them suddenly stop running at a certain bollard :-)

We are in a northern 'new town', but I used to live in amore traditional mill town till three years ago and it was the same. I grew up (I am only 27, we're not talking wartime) on a main road- we just went out via the back gate and ginnel.

Do I live in a different dimension to everyone else, or is it (as I suspect) all down to people just liking to moan?

(oh, and they play conkers etc too...)

People just like a moan!

I agree with you,theres always kids playing out around here and in every street I've ever lived in.

Course they do ! My elder son looks like he's had two weeks in the Bahamas he's been out playing football/tennis/cricket that much. It's a balance - he's currently watching TV in his room. Nowt wrong with that either if he does the other stuff too.

I think it depends where you live.

DD is too young anyway, but nobody ever plays out on our street... it is just off the high street, with all the associated delivery lorries etc though.

Agree

Not many kids playing out on the streets around here. Kids definitely play but more in gardens or parks I think.

There aren't here, mostly because we aren't allowed to, we get snotty letters from the Housing Association if the DC's dare to venture outside of their own garden.

So they have to be old enough to safely get to the nearest park, which is a good 15 minutes walk away, and across about 12 side roads on a busy estate.

Further down the estate, outside of the properties owned by the HA, DC's do play out though.

I lived on a fairly main road and there were still kids playing out on the pavement.

The kids play out on our small estate too. There's normally a bunch of them in the playground in the middle, which is visible from most parts of the estate, and some riding round on their bikes.

Housing associations actually tell you not to let kids play out? Fuck that!

I think it depends what street you are on.

Mine play out. We have no garden. But there is no road either. You go directly out of my house, over a small bridge and into a park. Most children play out from 4 or 5 upwards.

Dd1's friends don't play out. Their mums text each other and arrange play dates in each others gardens, which is fair enough, but not quite the same. Some of dd1's best friends are waifs and strays she's brought home from the park.

Mine do. But up to a year ago they couldn't. We lived on a very busy main road and there was literally nowhere and no-one they could play with. Now, they are out all the time, climbing trees, making dens - really just doing all the stuff I did at their age.

Couthy That is awful What reason do the HA give that children aren't allowed to play out the front?

there are 5 kids living in my street all aged 6 and 7, none of them played out untill my dd started calling on them. One of them still does not play out but dd can play in her house, then they come skiping over to me and I turf them out side. this buggs me actually as when dd goes out play I want her out and not in sopmeone elses house and dont see why the little girl isnt allowed to play on her front drive at the very least.

I've never known a HA say kids can't play out.

I live in West London and its true kids don't play out here. They get taken to parks. Playing out just doesn't work here. I don't particularly feel its a negative thing really. We live near some beautiful parks with great equipment. It's just part of the daily routine.

I think kids need some unsupervised play with their mates or the local kids.

one in ten people in the UK live in london, and our media is utterly london-centric - kids in london generally don't play in the street, they have to go to parks.

All the kids around here play outside all the time. I still play with my Hula Hoop outside

There are a lot of green spaces where I live too, so I think most kids are told to play on those.

We're also not far from a racetrack and it is a big motorcycling place... people drive really badly at high speeds.

South London
Kids don't play out here

Well it's relatively unsupervised in that I sit and read the paper while they do their thing in a massive park. I'm available if they need me but leave them to it mostly. Not much else we can do really. Playing out is not practical here.

I agree. I think these statistics about kids not playing out are all written by people who live in posh parts of London. Anyone in a posh part of London where kids play out? Where I live kids play out all the time, in their gardens or on the street, and also in communal play areas.

Is it that much? One in ten? Wow.

Well, my advice is, as always, move up here!

I live in North London and no kids play out on our road. It's a cut through for traffic and cars go really fast. Makes me sad. I spent my youth playing out.

They don't play out in our street. Very narrow pavement alongside a busy road. I wish we had gone for a modern property in a cul-de-sac.