No more play or you’ll fall prey

Back when I was a child, I played outside in our village’s old tennis court all the time. It was quite an experience for me and I learned lots of things playing with the kids in my neighborhood. Therefore, I feel really sorry for the kids when I read this article in BBC News’ magazine section, “How stranger danger changed the way children play”.

According to the article, after the 1960s, British children can no longer play freely in their streets because of a famous case of child sadistic murder which became such a sensational stories on TV at that time. Parents got more and more concern of their kids, so kids were not allowed to play too far away from home or too late into the night. Later on, the increasing of cars on streets hampered kids’ street playing because parents were alarmed of car accident. Moreover, replacing old style houses by high-rise buildings also is another problem for kids’ outside playing because this kind of housing style made extended family becomes fewer and relationship between neighbors were less. As a result, there was no extended family member or a neighbor to watch over kids’ playing and to keep them out of trouble. Lastly, regardless of low statistics on stranger danger, television has made the situation looked worse than it really was, with intense reporting on kid’s abduction and molestation. Children nowadays are rarely be able to have outdoor activities, they stay in all the time, they have no chance of learning social skills, they are isolated, and they have problems in obesity and aggression.

Being unable to play out as wish is such bad news. I was very lucky that I lived in a very safe village where everyone worked at the same place as my father. Playing out door with neighborhood kids taught me how to solve problems in groups of friends, how to accept the fact that you lose in a game without crying, and how to interact with older kids, in conclusion it was like a tiny model of social life I have to face when I grow up.

In Thailand, especially in Bangkok, kids also have no chance of playing out in the street. It’s too dangerous. In big city, crimes are rising everywhere and strangers are definitely not to be trusted, so, it is very obvious that your kids are not to be out of sight, ever. In addition, even in Thailand’s upcountry where most of your neighbors are your relatives, parents still have to keep their eyes closely on their kids. Sexual harassing, including rape, can happen to your kids, no matter what gender the kid is, at any minute, in anywhere, and worst of all with anyone, including the kid’s father himself, no need to say more about other male relatives or neighbors. For the solution, it is not complicated at all; just don’t let your kids play without a trusted adult in charge and also teach your kids well of all dangerous situations they can be in and how to get out of the dangers. As long as the kids are well prepared and stay in safe place, they can play out door and get experiences of it.

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References

How stranger danger changed the way children play,(2009, December,8), BBC News, Retrieved December 10, 2009 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8399749.stm