Government advises parents to give children a less sheltered childhood

Government's advice to parents: make sure your child plays conkers - Guardian

Extract:

"It is the stuff of every grown-up's nostalgic reminiscences of childhood: epic conker showdowns, playground snowball fights and long hours playing outside, away from the watchful eyes of mum and dad. Now ministers are calling on risk-averse parents to stop "wrapping their children in cotton wool" and allow them to enjoy the delights of outdoor play and traditional rough-and-tumble fun.

In his first venture into the heated debate over the way children grow up in Britain since taking on his new role, Ed Balls, the secretary of state for children, said childhood should be a "time for learning and exploring" and children should get the chance to play outdoors and take part in school trips.

"My assumption is, that if it snows, kids go out and build snowmen and have snowball fights, that in October kids go out and play conkers, that they play marbles."

Schools should not be cowed by a compensation culture into banning traditional games, Mr Balls made clear, ahead of the publication today of a consultation document on keeping children safe while encouraging a more adventurous approach.

A minority of schools have banned conkers and snowball-throwing amid concerns that injuries could expose schools to the threat of legal action. The bans have become a touchstone in some quarters for wider fears that children are being straitjacketed by over-protectiveness and an over-zealous approach to health and safety. While local authorities fear the rise of compensation culture, most parents, too, are gripped by caution; three quarters feel their children are at greater risk when playing outdoors than they were five years ago.

Mr Balls echoed the views recently expressed by groups such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents that learning to deal with risk is part of growing up. "We rightly have high expectations for our children," he said. "We want them to be protected from any sort of harm and abuse. But this does not mean that we should wrap our children in cotton wool.

"Childhood is a time for learning and exploring. Through playing and doing positive activities, children and young people can learn to better understand the opportunities and challenges in the world around them, and how to be safe."

The government campaign will encourage parents to let children play outside "in safe environments" and take part in other "positive activities". According to statistics quoted in the paper, Staying Safe, more than one third of children never play outside and nearly two thirds of parents are worried about letting their children do so. Parents should be able to "strike the right balance between protecting their children and at the same time allowing them to learn and explore safely", said Mr Balls, a father of three young children."

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