Stranger danger dampens outside activity 1260x542
2 Apr 2012

Stranger danger dampens outside activity

2 mins to read
In the days when video games were limited and the item beginning with an ‘i’ that most children pined for was ice-blocks not iPads, did you spend endless hours playing outside your family home without mum and dad?


In the days when video games were limited and the item beginning with an ‘i’ that most children pined for was ice-blocks not iPads, did you spend endless hours playing outside your family home without mum and dad?

Did you ever walk, unaccompanied, to school or to the local bus or train station? I did, as did most of my friends, and I recall these occasions as happy, safe times. But if a recent study by the Australian Council for Educational Research [ACER] is anything to go by, most young children today won’t experience the same simple pleasures and physical benefits of playing outdoors or walking to school (alone at least) because parents are concerned about stranger-danger and unsafe roads.

From around seven or eight years old my brothers and I were allowed to play in the street without direct supervision. We knew most of the kids in our local area, everyone looked out for everyone else, and there was always something to do. Riding bikes, playing hopscotch, jumping on someone’s trampoline or visiting the little creek at the end of our modest suburban street. It was an ideal upbringing. We were never far from home but always self-sufficient and importantly active, but times have changed.

According to the ACER research, which was taken from a survey of more 1,000 respondents across Victoria, parental concern about the potential threat of strangers is high. 76 per cent of parents living in metropolitan areas and 71 per cent of parents living in regional locations listed it as the most significant barrier to their primary-school aged children’s physical activity outside the home, followed by road safety.

As sad as such insight makes me, as a parent of young children I appreciate the thinking behind it. Too often we hear reports about children involved in tragic events such as near or successful abductions and traffic accidents. And it’s a fact that life is busier and faster than it was a few decades ago. But, I’d like to think that my kids get to experience some of the outdoor lifestyle I benefited from growing up. It might mean a little more effort on my behalf – perhaps talking to some of my neighbours with kids about regular backyard/street playdates or walking with them to school rather than not at all? I’ve not quite worked it out but I’m not given up on the idea yet either.

I’m interested to hear your thoughts. Do you let your kids walk to school or play in your neighbourhood unaccompanied? Why/why not?

Reference available upon request



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