Parental fears are turning out lonely children

Parental fears over child safety could be leading to a generation of loners – as kids miss out on the chance to forge real friendships. A study by the Children’s Society has found that the average age parents feel children should be allowed out on their own has risen to 14. This is despite the fact that most of the respondents said that their own parents let them out with friends from the age of 10.

This fear of child safety – and the survey was carried about before Madeleine McCann’s disappearance – is so great that experts fear children don’t get the freedom to forge friendships on their own without adult supervision. Lack of freedom, the chance to play and the increase in solitary actitivities such as computer games mean more teenagers now say they have no best friend – one in five, up from one in eight back in 1986.

Bob Reitemeier, chief executive of the Children's Society, said: ‘As a society we are in a real quandary: on the one hand we want freedom for our children but on the other we are becoming increasingly frightened to let them out. All the research shows that spending time with friends is fundamental to children's wellbeing and development, which means it is crucial that we resolve this contradiction.’

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