To think that allowing young children to "play out" is a safeguarding concern?

[LongTimeLurker234]

Was just wondering how people feel about children between the ages of say, 6/7/8/9 "playing out" unsupervised by adults for hours, and without a phone. Going to the local parks, shops etc... Are there any laws about it?

I'm posting this because I'm actually concerned for some children, not just because of this issue alone but this is part of it.

YABU- playing out is normal
YANBU - safeguarding concern

@LongTimeLurker234

If you have something serious related to safeguarding to report then just go ahead and report it.

If playing out is all you have then mind your business.

PlYing out is normal and beneficial

I think you'd be hard pressed though to find any evidence that suggests supervision for young children is in anyway detrimental to their development. Quite the opposite I'd imagine.

My daughter played out from when she started school. Prior to that she played out and I watched her. She had a boundary that she wasn’t allowed past. She’s been able to go further afield this past couple of years, she’s 11 now. It all depends on where children live really and the local community.

Well OP mentions 'shops and parks' - so I doubt that she's rural. But then again, DP was... and the amount of drug taking etc because people were bored out of their skulls was off the charts.

In areas where there's vandalism, thuggish behaviour caused by groups of bored kids roaming - it's surely their parents' responsibility.

Whatever you say about 'vibe' some of the things you mentioned are factually dangerous, whatever anybody thinks about it. Rivers/lakes - not only polluted, but quite a few have 'danger spots' that the local know to avoid. They'd rather others not jump in and use up rescue resources. Wood - you think kids 'build dens', but there are also those who vandalise trees for the sake of it, so a few I've been to have signs saying not to touch them.

Also elite athletes - if you've never been that talented you won't really understand. They don't see it as training their childhoods away, it's a passion, it's drive and who they are as a person. Most 'MC' parents would rather their kids focus on their studies but if someone is that determined you can't stop them. 'Hothousing', fair enough but again how many parents keep their children in against their will?

All of these can't be compared to each other really.

I'm same age and have fond memories of playing out as a child. Gangs of us off into the fields, climbing trees, making dens, doing 'hay jumps' etc. I often think back about it as I think it's sad that this might not happen anymore.

Remember, this is MN where for some their 'children' are not adults at 25! Surely it depends where one lives and local traffic conditions whether or not children are allowed to play outside off the parental reins.

I must have been allowed out to play at 3, because I clearly remember that street and playing out, and we moved when I was 4.

I was allowed to knock all the doors in the new street (aged 4) asking if any children lived there and if so, would they like to play with me.

Later (around 9/10) we were allowed to go out in the morning on our bikes and be sure to get back before dinner.

But I'm 53.

I do think context is everything though. These were very safe neighbourhoods.

No. Not at all a safeguarding concern in itself, particularly an 8 & 9 year old!

This post makes me so sad.

I'm in my 20s and when I was a child me and my sister would play out all day at ages 5 and 8 and above.

Children are wrapped in cotton wool. We only hear about more murders and abductions because the Internet tells us, just as much shit happened back in the 90s and 00s it just wasn't broadcast as widely. The number of nutters and evil people hasn't increased.

Children should be playing outside not stuck indoors playing roblox.

Laws? On playing out? Nope. I dint think there are. FFS.

I was playing outside at the age of 4 . It was very common back then lack of cars etc, my grandparents were playing out at around 2 as soon as they could toddle . If anything happens to kids now the parents get the blame .

The only thing I have often wondered, is how come it's okay to let a child play out for a few hours with no supervision, yet woe betide any parent who leaves a child indoors for a few hours when they pop to the shops. It's always flummoxed me.

Yep- or in a car whilst doing some shopping

That's because you were privileged to live in a safe area, not because everyone has gone health and safety mad in this crazy newfangled world.

There is a middle ground. I go out with my children, we have a garden, they have play dates, siblings. It’s not a games console or letting a 5yr old go to the park alone.

Re phones...

Within a few minutes walk of our house are a Primary School, a 11-16 Secondary and a College primarily for Sixth Form.

The biggest liability on the roads are the College students. They are around 8-5pm, often in pairs or alone, head buried in their phone with headphones on. They have no awareness of whats happening around them and step out into the main roads or walk down the middle of the side streets.

The younger kids playing out or making their way to and from school... no phones in sight, only use the crossings on the main road, and constantly checking for cars.

The Secondary pupils are generally alert.... busy gossiping rather than buried in the screen.

"We only hear about more murders and abductions"

I'm sure the parents of the kidnapped and murdered children never thought it would have happened to them.

The way I see it.

If my child was abducted, it wouldn't affect nobody else's life. It affects mine and hers. If someone referenced her in the future in a thread "oh things happen and we can't wrap them in cotton wool" it's okay saying that when it isn't your child.

I cannot protect my children from the big bad world forever, but while they are young, I can. That is my responsibility. Letting a child play out is fucking irresponsible.

I get it, back gardens no fences etc blah blah. But wandering around streets and greenery?

It shouldn't be like this. But bad women and men exist and actively seek out to do harm.

There’s a huge difference between 6 and 9! Mine were playing out from 9 but only on the estate - both mine are older now and have phones (which they never answer!)

In my small northern town kids play out just as they did when I was a kid (70s)

But then and now, there were and are parents taking the piss. As a child, I remember having skeevy people bothering us and I knew I could go just home, whereas one of my friends couldnt go home until a certain time! And lately in my neighbourhood, I don't mind keeping half an eye on kids playing round my house, but I draw the line at seeing literal toddlers accompanying their 9yo siblings! I found a little 3yo girl playing with my cat in my garden and I called to the nearby kids to find out who she was with. I walked her home and the dad seemed confused when he opened the door to us. Idiot.

I couldn’t imagine letting my 6 year old play in a park , without me being there.
when there’s a child abduction, it’s often I read, that we’re out playing alone.
Too young not to be supervised

I lived in London and kids weee allowed to walk home from school alone from year 5 (age 9-10)

Your question depends on the area. I live on a quiet suburban cul de sac so 6+ year olds do stuff like roller blade up and down the street. 🤷‍♀️ There is a Coop 10 minutes away with proper pavements and a couple of quiet roads to cross so that's fine too.

Kids needs slow transitioning to the next stage or growing up. So when you're about to cross the road with a 6 year old, it might be a good idea to challenge them to demonstrate when to cross. Or you might point out that your usual crossing spot isn't safe today because of a rogue parked car so you're going to cross at the next crossing. Over time they will learn how to think safely and hopefully replicate that when you're not there.

And let me not mention abductions and murderers.

What about dog attacks, older children being bullies.

The sheer increase in dogs attacking would be my first worry.

My nephew got attacked by a dog only last week and he's 6 and my brother lets him "play out on the front"

I think it’s too young but am in the minority. We have woods across the road from us and have never seen kids younger than about 11 playing there. Never see kids playing out on the cul de sacs etc. I do see kids about year 5+ playing at the playground/green down the road but they’re all from the houses that face the green.

We didn’t really have ‘playing out’ when I was growing up (2000s) because tiny tiny village which was just houses and country lanes. But did go for walks in the fields and walk to friends houses and bike rides (for hours) alone from around 10/11. I’d say that’s more dangerous than playing out in a neighbourhood, as no adults around, no passers by and no phone signal even if you did have a phone.

Yes that's always been the case. I don't know why the pearl-clutchers have taken over the thread to set up a straw man of "health and safety gone mad".

It's more about the safety of the area you live in.