child rearing
August 16, 2023 | 4:55 PM
Children these days are not allowed to be children.
Children’s spontaneous play—whether taking a walk in the woods, playing tag outside, or just staring at the clouds on a summer afternoon—is increasingly becoming a thing of the past.
And it’s the parents who are sounding the alarm, despite their alleged role in the increase in anxiety-driven, closely-monitored “play.”
“It wasn’t like that when I was a kid,” said one participant in a recent study on structured playtime at the University of Essex in England.
“It didn’t exist in the 50’s. There was more freedom back then, people were out and about, but my mom didn’t think about worrying…you just went out.” [into] I had more free time in the woods. ”
the study, Published in the Sociological Journal of Health and Fitnesssurveyed 28 UK residents born between 1950 and 1994 about their own history of physical activity and how their families influenced that experience.
The study reveals that a major shift in parenting habits began in the 1990s.
“Until the 1990s, parents weren’t expected to provide the endless entertainment and supervision that they are today, so children were able to play more freely and independently,” the study said. Author John Day, Ph.D. said in a news release.
“But society has changed since those children became parents, and there is a greater sense of responsibility for their development,” added Day.
Much of that responsibility stems from the realization that children are not getting enough physical playtime as technology, the internet and video games begin to occupy their days.
Concerned helicopter parents rushed in, trying to fill their children’s schedules with planned play dates and organized group activities.
“They call it the Xbox generation…my son is a prime example of that,” said one frustrated father in a survey. “I’ve been fighting it since he was a teenager…the virtual world is their world. They just sit in their bedrooms.”
And now the spontaneity is missing from their children’s lives, said the same parent. “Everything seems to be planned, but we need an attendant to make sure the children are safe.”
The father lamented that the days of parents telling their children to ‘leave home and have a little more freedom and do what they want to do’ are over, he added, adding that it was “very disappointing”.
“Today’s society positions parents as the sole technicians in their child’s development, an unrealistic burden with unreasonable pressures and expectations,” Day explained.
Part of the social pressure is caused by increased risk awareness.
“One aspect of the problem is the growing fear of danger from strangers,” Day said, citing concerns about “increased traffic on the roads and child abductions.”
As a result, “opportunities for children to exercise their bodies through voluntary play are becoming limited.”
The result, according to Day and many parents, is a loss of the autonomy that comes from unstructured, unsupervised play.
“Parents are encouraged to spend more time with their children and to gauge how independent they are,” Day said.
“But most of what we learn about independence happens when children choose to take risks, and those opportunities are being lost at an early age.”
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