Surprise, surprise...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2447146/
Quote:
Active play is disappearing from the lives of Canadian children, in part because of parents’ fear of letting kids play outdoors, according to a new report by Active Healthy Kids Canada.
In its annual report card released on Tuesday, Active Healthy Kids Canada gave a letter grade of F to both the physical activity levels and screen-based sedentary behaviours of today’s children and youth. According to the report, 46 per cent of Canadian kids get three hours or less of active play per week and spend nearly eight hours a day in front of screens.
The report also found 58 per cent of Canadian parents say they are very concerned about keeping their children safe and feel they have to be over-protective. Mark Tremblay, chief scientific officer of the organization, called this an “excessive fear of the outdoors.”
Kids who are allowed to play outside in their neighbourhoods may be in no more danger than children were a generation ago, but try telling that to many parents.
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I really hate to sound like a crotchety old man, but when did this trend of obsessive over-protective partenting begin? As recently as my childhood (1980s), all the kids in the neighbourhood played outdoors for hours, climbing trees, exploring the woods, playing street hockey, riding our bikes, whatever. We were told to play outside after we got home from school and instructed to be home for dinner. The concept of an indoor, parental-organized (and supervised!) "play date" didn't even exist.
I've heard the argument that it's more dangerous for kids these days, but I suspect that's just the fear-inducing media blowing a few high-profile cases (e.g. Tori Stafford) completely out of proportion. Nobody has ever shown me any concrete crime statistics that show the rate of childhood abductions by strangers has increased at all since the 1950s. So why are today's helicopter parents subjecting their children to increased rates of obesity (and all the long-term negative health consequences that brings) to reduce the already miniscule chance of their child being kidnapped or otherwise harmed?