Overprotecting Children

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Overprotecting Children Youngsters are missing out on their childhood because we over-protect them, a child play expert claims.

In No Fear: Growing Up in a Risk Averse Society, Mr Gill argues that childhood is being undermined by the growth of risk aversion and its intrusion into every aspect of children's lives.

Activities that previous generations of children enjoyed without a second thought - like walking to school on their own - have been re-labelled as troubling or dangerous and the adults who permit them branded as irresponsible, he argues.

While it is surely the case that allowing children further opportunities to roam around within their communities would bring them many benefits, the persistent hysteria over child abuse means that, in practice, children who are roaming around are likely to cause trouble both for themselves and for everyone else; because nowadays - unlike in the past - the adults in the community would be too fearful to contain them.