Making sure our kids have access to a whole range of safe play experiences is one of the most important things we can offer them as parents. We take a look at child safety while playing outdoors.
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Children need to play outdoors more. That’s the overriding conclusion from experts on children’s play and development. Experts say we are raising a nation of ‘battery farmed’ children – kept indoors through parental concerns for their safety. So what can we do to make outdoor play a safe experience?
With around 80* per cent of children preferring outdoor play to indoors, and around three in four children saying they would like to play out more often, ensuring that we have clear outdoor play safety rules in place to protect our kids is fundamental.
The Conservatives have suggested that providing more park rangers to supervise outdoor play areas would be a step forward in encouraging more outdoor play. And while this is a good idea, the Government has responded by cutting the red-tape surrounding school-trips - in a bid to encourage teachers to feel more confident about taking children outdoors more, and to make the procedures more straightforward.
These are positive steps, but there is much more we can do as parents to help our children play safe in the great outdoors. To help you make the most of your child’s outdoor play experiences, My Child has come up with some top tips for safe and happy ‘free-range’ fun:
- Agree a set of rules that your child is happy with and understands – such as playing outside for a certain amount of time, or if they are playing in a big space, they know not to go where you can’t see them
- If your child is out with other children, make sure they have a buddy system where they stick with a partner or group and have an adult they know nearby
- Always agree on a meeting point if you are out and about with your child, that way if they get lost it can be the first place to look. You also need to make sure your child knows what to do if they get lost, for example find a policeman, go into a shop or ask a lady with children
- For older children, make sure they know your home address and telephone number, you could even give them a mobile phone to use when they are out
- Again for older children, encourage them to become 'street-smart'. Take your child on the route to their local park from your home so they become familiar with the area. If anything were to happen in an emergency, your child would know their route home
- You could even try setting up a neighbourhood watch scheme where members of the community all keep an eye out for children. Do this with neighbours that you know, or get to know - if they have children themselves
- If you are really worried about your child playing outdoors you could try the Loc8ter – a tagging device which lets you know where your child is, and has a panic button which they can press if they feel threatened
- Make sure your child knows not to speak to people they do not know, and if they feel uncomfortable about any behaviour, to report it to an adult they know or a policeman.
*According to a 2006 survey carried out by Playday.
