I was reading this article on the BBC site today and I also listened to Radio two earlier about kids not getting out like their parents did despite the statistics that kids are no more likely to get taken now than 30 years ago and far less likely to get run over.

It really made me think about the fantastic childhood I had and the freedom that camewith it, I would say that my kids are better off than average as e live in a semi rural location and we’re not hugely paranoid about them, especially as they’re nearly always in a group. I also think they’re lucky because we get them out into the wilderness, walks, Moots, camping etc all help them be comfortable outdoors, this has obvious benefits when meeting new people and interacting with strangers as well, they do know what to say and have an idea of when caution is necessary but they’re not scarred of everyone they’ve never met within their own garden boundaries.

I had a great deal of freedom as did most people from my generation, I hope that I can facilitate my kids looking back and saying the same thing. There’s so much benefit in having experiences as a child, having freedom to explore and discover new things, I know it’s different in the built up cities etc and I know I’m blessed living where I do, I just need to make the most of it. It’s shame that there’s so many children that are closeted and miss out on so much, I’m definitely not pointing the finger at anyone, I know it’s a hard world, I just think that sometimes it’s not all that different from the one we grew up in and we had so much more than video games, TV and street corners….Make me sad that my kids won’t have all and more of what I did.