Modern Day Children

By Ina Woolcott

In spite of having modern technology such as iPods, computers and mobiles in abundance, many modern day kids appear to be missing out on the vital, real riches of childhood.

For many, simple pleasures such as climbing trees, playing hide and seek outdoors and family outings are out of bounds.

Some parents would actually rather let their children explore the internet than buy them a bike and let them explore the neighbourhood. They actually admit to not even considering getting them a bike.

4000 parents of pre-teens were asked to jot down treasured experiences from their own childhoods that they felt were missing from their children’s upbringing. Half the parents asked were too worried about traffic to consider letting their kids go to far on a bike. Over half said that their children had no experience of traditional playground games such as chasing games, conkers and hopscotch.

Nearly 7 out of 10 parents felt that the freedom of playing outside alone was a thing of the past, as well as hide and seek, building dens and climbing trees.

One thing seems to have survived the onslaught of technology - bed time stories. However, Harry Potter and Horrid Henry have taken the place of Enid Blyton and such.

There are parents who long nostalgically for a return to the religious and community festivals they have in their memories of growing up. Only 1 out of 3 kids have taken part in a school stage production. About 17% have celebrated harvest festivals. Around 1 in 5 kids place board games - 84% of parents remember playing board games as kids!

Seaside and museum trips are also out of the question for many today. Over half the parents questioned wished that their children could enjoy a similar upbringing to their own.

‘The modern experience of childhood is now radically different and places an extraordinary pressure on both the parents and children to ensure it is happy and wholesome’, said Jane Smith, of the film company Entertainment Rights which commissioned the survey.