Why do people say it’s not safe for kids to play outside anymore?

[Waitingforthesunnydays]

People always say things like “it’s not like it used to be, kids can’t go off and play outside on their own these days”, “In my day we’d be out playing all day, the world’s not what it used to be”, “You can’t do that these days, it’s just not safe” etc etc. AIBU for thinking the world’s no more dangerous than it was in the 70s/80s/90s and it’s just and excuse for parents not to feel guilty about letting their kids sit home gaming all day? I get that we are now more aware & educated about the dangers (although in the 80s weren’t parents obsessed with “stranger danger”? - there were ad campaigns about it everywhere) but it doesn’t mean it actually IS more dangerous. Or am I missing something? Is the world somehow more dangerous in this respect now? I grew up in a rural area in the 90s and as a kid I’d be out morning till evening every weekend roaming for miles with all the village kids. Nothing bad ever happened and we were never in any kind of danger. I live in a rural area now and I’d love for my kids to have the kind of childhood I had but for their friends’ parents it’s all about structured play dates and organised trips to play centres etc. so even if they wanted to go knock on their mates’ doors to ask if they want to come out and play (they’re 9 & 11) the parents wouldn’t appreciate it or let them out at all.

Nothing is safe.

Not around here. Kids out from early morning to late evening in all holidays and weekends. Neighbour's girlfriend brings her kids when she visits him most evenings and weekends, and as soon as they get out of the car, they're playing outside. There's a kids park in our new build estate which is always full. There's a skate park within another park down the road and that is always full (horrid kids they are, though - throw stones at passing dog walkers and at the dogs).

But yes, everyone where I live plays outside.

I let my kids out to play but they had to stay within our cul-de-sac and the had to run round not across the road

Paedophile/stranger danger paranoia
Huge increases in traffic over the last 100 years combined with a perceived deterioration in driving standards in recent years.
Projection of their fears/perceptions onto their children. Look at how many people claim cycling on the road is dangerous, in complete contrast to what the observational data actually shows.

If you are going to make assertions like that, you must first define what "safe" means, otherwise a meaningful discussion is impossible. I personally do not define safe as strictly zero risk of harm, and I suspect most people would agree with me.

I think its area dependant the area I live in and have lived in since being a child is significantly more dangerous then it use to be. I let my kids out but they all have trackers on there phone. Also social media has made me paranoid and also some of the stupid and dangerous things I did as a kid really puts me off letting my kids have that level of freedom. The things I was allowed to do as a kid is ridiculous I had no rules nobody knew where I was I regularly put myself in dangerous situations. I'm definitely stricter then my parents where

Fair. I was responding to someone saying "it's not safe" as a reason for kids not playing out. I was being a bit flippant because I just don't agree that it's so unsafe that the negatives outweigh the positives for me and my kids in our location. Yes, there is risk. There's also risk not sending them out (anxiety, not developing independence and social skills, limiting physical development and risk assessment skills). And risk to keeping them in (screens, Internet, not active enough)

I live opposite a large park in a nice suburb, and you do see kids 10+ playing out in groups.

One of the problem in smaller villages is often that they're unaffordable for young families, so there isn't a core of kids playing out.

The single biggest thing was the law around seatbelts.

It's perceived higher risk. Child abductions and children being knocked over are actually lower or about the same these days (depending on the stats you look at). The risk hasn't actually changed but our understanding and knowledge of risk has and companies (wrap around care, holiday care) have sprung up in response to this risk.

I think its partly just a cultural shift. Because it's so much rarer now you're far more likely to be reported to social services for letting kids roam - or the kids will be questioned more by "helpful" strangers. I'd love my kids to play out more but knocking on friends doors to play doesn't happen as their friends parents might not let them out or theyre all busy with after school activities- football/swimming/Scouts etc most nights anyway. And I worry about the judgement from neighbours.

I would have let my DC play out, but when his best mates weren't allowed out by themselves, itwass hard as I didn't want him out by himself. Now he's older he goes out with mates after school and weekends nearly every day.

It's certainly not an excuse to let him game all day!

My other DC, well they are ND and I can't trust they would make good decisions or not freak out in difficult circumstances if I'm honest. I'm definitely more protective of them. Again their friends do not play out yet (age 9).

I think it's very different if you're rural too. We live in a city and on my road alone there have been a fair few crashes / dangerous driving incidents in the past year alone. I've seen motorbikes mount the pavement and youths doing 50-60 in a 20 zone. Luckily we're not too far from a park but it still involves crossing 3 or more roads.

This would have been the same for our mothers, and our mothers' mothers etc., if not more so. Teachers and priests etc. had free rein until fairly recently.

You take the (very very low) risk because of the benefits to their development and resilience. In the same way as when you drive them somewhere in a car, you risk their safety, but you do it because you think the reason for the journey will be worth it.
My children have enjoyed walking to the local shop on their own or taking a parcel to a neighbour, but perhaps they are unusual.

I have friends who were reported to SS for letting their children play in the front garden/path. People are often worried about this kind of thing as well as stranger danger etc and it probably contributes to less children playing outdoors independently.

We live in a town just outside London- changes that spring to mind is the huge increase in traffic including electric bikes and scooters that often go on the pavement. Obviously, we can prepare our kids for that to an extent.

But two major changes are county lines drug issues and that pretty much all secondary school age kids carry mobile phones. Mobile phone muggings are common, even in parks in the middle of the day - more so in the town centre.

My kids are given a certain amount of freedom but we have to be mindful of these issues.

Cars pose a far greater risk to kids than electric bikes or scooters

In my estate cars are the problem including evri/amazon vans driving at speed. If I had young kids I'd be concerned about them playing in the street. Everyone's in such a rush, even those with children. The council agreed to put a 20 mph speed limit in place with little effect.

A walk to the shops is different to playing out though, it’s only going to be 15-20 mins at a maximum.

There just isn’t a culture of kids playing out so if yours is the only one, the risk is going to be higher.

Back when everyone did it, it was a different story. Cant put genie back in the bottle now, nobody wants to be the first to let their’s out.

I think in some ways the dangers are the same as they were back then, except
i do agree with the people saying traffic. I don’t think they are any more or less at risk from predators than they were back then, only now there is more awareness and subsequently more caution. Children are still far more at risk from people they know than ‘strangers’ . When my 11 year old is out playing, honestly my biggest worry is traffic.
I also think there is a greater tendency now to blame the parents when things happen outside the home. 30 years ago if a child was hit by a car it would be seen as a terrible accident (assuming the driver wasn’t driving dangerously). Now people say ‘what was a ten year old doing out playing unsupervised’. Er….doing what kids that age have been doing for decades…..
The internet also means than when children do come to harm outside the home, everyone is more likely to hear about it, it’s more visible. so it makes us think the risks of this happening are much greater than they actually are.

Its not just moving traffic, it's also parked traffic which makes it more difficult for younger, smaller children to navigate around safely. The lack of safety of being able to even walk on a pavement - having to move out into the road to get around cars and vans and bins. Little kids can't see over and around all that. And then for older kids no matter where they go they're frowned upon. Many parks don't even have benches in case older children might sit there, so they sit on the equipment, so then the younger kids are intimidated. Its just a bit of a shit show in many places.

I agree OP it's a myth. I've heard people parrot this, it's not safe any more we don't know who are neighbours are etc. But they have nothing to really back this up. The most unsafe thing you can do IMO is give your child a smartphone. Yet the same people who think walking from a bus stop is too dangerous think their kids are safer with a phone. It's actually bonkers when you think about it.

I work with kids and there is an ever increasing issue with poor gross motor skills and poor risk assessment. Kids are supervised constantly with parents telling them something is too high or too weak to climb, they are dominating the play and ultimately the children don't learn to assess risk themselves which leaves them very vulnerable to making risky decisions when they are older.

I was OK with leaving my kids out but as pp say, it's much safer in a group, it's the child alone that is vulnerable. So I was careful about when and where. I admit also i am aware that people are extremely judgmental about parents who don't constantly supervise their children, assuming it's lack of care when it may well be the opposite.

Totally agree. My boy is out as much as possible but a lot of the time he's on his own which is never as safe. But his friends are so organised they never have spare time, they are always at a club or something.
I hate him being alone.
I also hate him cycling as the roads are definitely less safe

Those men have always existed, they just have a means of accessing and subsequently being caught to make it feel like there’s more of them!

As I said, in our area at least, electric bikes as scooters are frequently ridden on the pavement which makes them problematic.