Given children no longer play unsupervised any more, is it time we started to grow them in hothouses like plants?

That way it will be easier to keep them fed and watered - all safely under the one roof and doting parents can watch them flourish via CCTV.

Playing a game of street cricket or, god forbid, climbing a tree in a suburban park are childhood joys as extinct these days as the Tasmanian tiger.

To some, letting your kids play outside is considered a sign of neglect.

While animal rights activists rant about the physical, cognitive and social problems other species suffer as a result of being bred in captivity, few seem fussed that’s how we now raise our children.

So it was with great delight to read the latest book by one of the world’s most respected writers and thinkers on childhood, whose work focuses on schoolyard behaviour and children’s play.

A former adviser to the British government, Tim Gill believes children have the potential to be more resilient, capable, creative and able to learn than we give them credit for.

Yet their lives are becoming ever more scheduled, controlled and directed.

In his book No Fear: Growing up in a risk averse society, Gill said children needed to be teased and called names so they can toughen up. I’m sure this will shock many parents.

He also says the level of playground bullying is being exaggerated and teachers and parents are over-reacting to it and over-intervening…

“Activities and experiences that previous generations enjoyed without a second thought have been relabelled as troubling or dangerous, while adults who still permit them are branded as irresponsible.” …

“Children are not always nice to each other, but people are not always nice to each other. The world is not like that. But what we are left with is a generation of bubblewrap children who will be unable to cope with similar squabbles in adult life.” …

Source: NEWS.com.au, Australia
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22675144-5007146,00.html