What does a stranger look like? (Keeping Your Child Safe from the Outside World)

Member Name: stickywicket

Product:	Keeping Your Child Safe from the Outside World
Date:	10/05/01 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Independence for kids

Disadvantages: You worry of course you do

Something has happened in our street over the last couple of weeks, something that some people would call a nuisance, others would say is good see. Children playing in the street. Some of you may have taken a sharp breathe there, others uttered a tch. There are advantages, safety issues, worries and concerns about this activity, but let me explain a little more about this street and the people that reside here.

This road has 90 houses in the suburbs of Croydon, at the end of the road is the infant/ junior school, now I know about 30 or 40 occupants of houses in this street, mostly through the children and school. My eldest son - 6 -has two friends in this road he went to nursery and started school with. The Mums network on the road works well, with dropping off and picking up at schools and nurserys, passing down of bikes, baby toys etc. It's a nice little community spirit.

My youngest son - 4 -has just gained the wheel fascination, he is in love with his bike, he is wishing for a skateboard and would love a micro scooter. My garden is 70'ft of grass, he wants to play outside why? Because Alex, Jack, Ben, Matthew, Elisabeth, the twins at 31 and Andrew do, and between them they have all these things. Three of them are football mad, they too have a 70 ft garden, but they too want to play in the street.

So I let them go, with conditions, no further than so and so's house, no crossing the road, blah blah, I'm watching them, there's always a mum watching them, one of us is always out there, it's not a rota or a decided thing, it just works that way. Other Mums on the street work at the school, others are childminders, it's not an everyone knows everyone situation, but its an awareness of who is who. Yesterday my front door is open it's a warm Spring afternoon, outside my house there is a collection of bikes and scooters, it's quiet, what are they doing? One of mine has a stone chalking on the pavement, oh no
I think not graffiti this early?The others are standing around, they step back. You know what, they drew a hopscotch grid! Beats the Playstation me thinks.

Yes I worry, no, to begin with I didn't think it was right, I was doubtful in our decision to let them play in the street. But they are not just playing are they? They are socialising, gaining a little bit of independence, earning some trust with a little bid of freedom. I don't think that is a bad thing.

I watched an Oprah show about a year ago, where children were asked what a stranger looks like. Most of the responses described a tall dark man dressed in black. I asked my children the same question and yes got a similar answer. I tell them that some people are bad and that sme bad people don't know that my two boys like sausages and would probably give then fish stew for tea.

I probably sound naive to some, or live life through rose coloured spectacles in the yearning for the way we were. I'm not and I don't. I just think that the community shouldn;'t be scared by the minority, children have the right to play, obviously there are conditions and rules. I don't see why the minority of saddos should ruin it for the kids.

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