Do you think children have enough freedom these days????

Question

On the news just now there was a report that children aren`t allowed as much freedom as they used to be and that constant supervision etc is considered detrimental to their welfare.
Personally in this day and age i don`t see we as parents have much option!
Would you let your 7 year old walk to the shops on thier own or stay out playing till dark because theres no way i would
what do you think,are we too over-protective??

Answer 1

Sadly no you are not we have been let down by the Government who have not provided the resources needed to keep us and our children safe.

When I was a kid we had Real Policemen Park Keepers Bus Conductors etc. Our parents had local jobs and our relations lived nearby so wherever you went there was an aunt/uncle/cousin etc nearby all the time.

Sure there were some dodgy characters around but we knew who we had to keep clear of even if we had no idea why.

Society is no longer allowed to look after its own. We are now even frightened of offering help to kids in trouble in case we become the accused

Answer 2

Too much freedom? I think that should be put in perspective. I mean if you live in the country where you know all your neighbors fairly well and there really isn't much happening out there then you are less concerned about where your child is every moment of the day. When you live in the city where you know certain areas have high crime and you child need to pass these places you, as a responsible parent, will go into a protective mode.
I think that parents can be over protective but being over-protective does not mean that you squash their freedom. As long as children are your responsibility you have a right to protect them and look out for them. For each child it would be different so for it to be said that one generation has more freedom that another is a little subjective without taking into account all the social and even technological changes.

Just a thought....what they may lack in physical freedom they make up for in technological freedom eg cell phones, internet, movies etc

Answer 3

I don't think I have enough freedom!!! Although I do think some do get too much!

My parents are over-protective about me going out often, because they think it'll distract me from work. Fair enough I completely understand... except I'm the sort of person who won't mess around when I go out, I always work hard (I'm an A* student - sorry if that sounds a bit arrogant!) and all my friends and teachers think I'm really sensible/responsible. However my parents (who do know that I'm responsible) still thinks that I might be turned into one of those teens who couldn't care less about their welfare. My parents don't let me out whenever I ask for it, I have to give them a few days' notice at least, unlike some children nowadays.

It's because those children who are like that gives the wrong impression of freedom for children/teens. They make it seem like that giving freedom to children means that they'll end up smoking/taking drugs etc. but that's not the case. When me and my friends go out, we don't do anything wrong at all - we just watch movies, play at each others' houses or go to the park for picnics and games. It's just one of those things where a few bad cases taints everything else.

I have younger siblings around the age of 7, they aren't allowed to go out alone (which I agree with because they're still too young) although in Summer they can ride their bikes on my road because it's a cul-de-sac.

Going back to your question - some have too much yes, but some - not enough and in some ways they influence each other.

Answer 4

I think some kids don't get enough freedom because some are given too much. As you say, you wouldn't let a young child walk to the shops on their own as they would probably be set upon by yobs. Most adults are now fearful of the teenage gangs that go around breaking the law and hurting people. Where are these kids parents? Things only seem to be getting worse. I dread to think what the world will be like in 50 years time.

Answer 5

There is no way I would let my child until they were 13 to go anywhere without me or another adult, and then it would be only in a group of friends. Kids do not always have good judgment, even if they are taught right from wrong. There have been specials on TV showing kids that have been taught not to touch guns and about how dangerous they are. They put them in a room with a double-sided mirror so the parents can see them. The kids most of the time go after the gun anyway. That is why kids cannot have too much freedom. Would you rather have them have their freedom to do what they want when they want so it doesn't "Hamper" them, or do you want them alive? It really isn't that tough of a choice.
I just wanted to add that my husband wouldn't let his older kids from his first marriage go out after dark unless they were with another adult until they were 18. This is why kids get in trouble. In Seattle a couple of weeks ago there was a 13 year-old that was shot in the leg by a cop. He and his friend were out at 3am vandelizing a building. The cop told them to show their hands. His friend put his hands up, but the 13 year-old reached into his pocket. She didn't know what was in his pocket so she shot him in the leg. What in the HELL is a 13 year-old doing out at 3am in the first place. Now do people think that kids need more freedom!?!?!

Answer 6

I walked to infant school with a friend of the same age and no parents, this was in the early seventies.... my mum was a really mummy mummy (she was a good parent) but in those days it was the norm.. , I played out all day over the fields with friends, she knew where I was, but I was taught common sense, yes I got into scrapes everyone does but I am still here to tell the tale .... I loved my youth
When I become a parent, and you can probably guess I would not be a young mum... I will let my child do the same...

Contrary to popular belief we live in a very safe society, look back a few hundred years if you want to see unsafe life.....
the only thing that seems to have turned mothers paranoid is the media...

Answer 7

IMO parents today, and going back a good two decades, have leaned more toward over-supervision. I'm not talking about safety issues, but more about putting them into a mindset/mode where they ALWAYS have to "ask permission." I just wasn't brought up like that...of course you have to ask on the big things, but should a kid really have to ask if they can __________________ (fill in the blank). Why not? Assuming there isn't a moral or ethical question, or a danger situation, why hold kids back from experiencing life? Well, what it really is, and this happens historically, is what we see is over-reaction to supra-permissive parenting of the generation who are now parents. They are reacting exactly opposite of what their own parents did because they saw the negative effect of that. I think what we need is a middle-ground. You see the questions on here all the time from young people and many parents just seem very unreasonable, to me anyway.

Answer 8

I think in some ways they do and some ways they don't.
It depends on the parenting of the adult.
I mean, with all the bad guys out these days and the nature of our media, I think we should be a little more protective, don't you think?

But you only have one chance at life. So I suggest kids should be allowed what they want to do in a safe way that both parent and child can get at. The job of an adult is to teach children and protect children, yet it's also good
to make a child smile.


Hope it helps!

Answer 9

Children have too much freedom! They don't know what to do with it and abuse it. They need constant supervision, up until the age 18, and protection.

Answer 10

I agree with you! Children need our supervision and protection, especially these days!
How much is too much, though? My children would say I'm too protective of them still and ttey're 20, 18, 16 & 15!
In fact it isn't that long ago I stopped trying to hold my youngest's hand across a road, much to her embarrassment!
I'm not sure where we should draw the line, but I'd say that if we weren't protective enough of our children, that would be far more detrimental to their welfare!