[Closed] British parents are more physically active than their children

Mmmmm i'd go along with that... My lad, kinda.... but it's debatable...

Not a chance. My eldest can jump up and down on a sofa for 24hrs straight. I struggle to get up the stairs at the moment.

For the population at large, I suspect there isn't much in it...

Parents driving everywhere, including ~0.5 miles down the road for "school run "

Kids glued to their mobiles instead of playing football etc.

My kids do more than me, but not 100% certain they would given half an opportunity.
I’m always keen to express the enjoyment side of being active to my kids, but still think they’d rather sit in their bedrooms on their phones chatting to their friends while playing computer games.

Much more active than my kids. It is a rare day I dont run/long walk/Cycle, and often more than 1. Sunday was a non sport day and walked 17 miles with the dog.

It's not just UK.

That said, I can show you streets in Glasgow where to live at one end means 7 years less life expectancy, lower quality of health and more. Mainly related to poverty and social issues leading to poor lifestyle, poor diet, poor activity levels and generally a sh*t start in life.

It saddens me how many parents are worried about letting their kids out the door. It's almost as if we've reached a point where you'll be judged as a bad parent if you do... Kids glued to digital screens all day long. Completely different world to when we were kicked out the house at 10am and shouted back in at teatime.

My kids are active (we all are), but as w00dster says it's not always their 1st choice 🙂

I'm a bit of an Xbox/tablet Nazi, they get a bit of time to do that as long as it's balanced with active pursuits too.  Unfortunately the downside of that is that there's currently only 2 days a week where at least one of them isn't doing something 🙂

I'm active by choice, try to ride to work as often as possible and get a grump on if it's been more than a day or 2 since I last exercised or at least got out of the house/office.

Very much the case with my lad, unfortunately - it's not exercise as such as he's reasonably happy to get involved with hiking, bike rides with me etc, plays football. It's more a non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) thing with him. Just an immovable boulder of a person who sticks to the couch like a limpet.

I'm exactly the same though so it's hard for me to be too critical. Off the bike I don't move much.

It holds true in our household. I do 24hr races, MiniH can barely walk the length of the park in one go.
He can't talk yet either, or control his bladder, or feed himself.Possibly not the best comparison, an 18month old.

My daughter is fairly active for 3yo.

My son doesn't do anything though, sleeps most of the day, he is only 4 months old though.

My son (5) is like a border collie. Just never stops moving and thinks sleep is an affliction his parents suffer with. Daughter (just turned 2) is the same. Constantly climbing, kamikaze jumping off the sofa etc. I sometimes envy friends with kids who’ll sit and play.

I used to be very active. Nowadays between work commitments and family stuff I do very little. Walk a couple of miles to work and back each day 😕

Daughter (17) plays netball 3 times a week 1 of those at a high level, and is a gym member lad (14) rides to school every day and is otherwise permanently on his bike, I've not ridden for 6 weeks 🙄

When time permits I'll be out running/biking 3 times a week. Rarely does that happen for longer than 10 weeks though as life is so insanely full on. Sadly this often means periods of similar length with little to no exercise. Makes me a very grumpy ape.

9 yr old Monkey jnr OTOH does a mix of football, martial arts, tennis, cross country and even the odd short ride with me in tow. Occasionally he moans about going to a session but he ALWAYS enjoys it. Unfortunately he doesn't get to play out in the wilds like me and thee did years ago so most of his exercise is kind of prescribed.

The irony of my answer is I don't have time to do as much exercise as I used to because I spend 2 evenings a week and both Saturday and Sunday mornings driving them to, and sitting on the sidelines while they play various sports.

The hard bit is keeping a pre-teen girl active*, especially when their peers are lazy bastards, very few of my daughters friends do any kind of exercise, PE was the first thing dropped at primary school too when they had a lack of teachers or any other issue.

All I can do is keep encouraging her to come to park run with us, cycle and keep her swimming going, plant the seed and hope it grows once she grows up a bit.

It was a lot easier when she was younger, she just went with the flow.

*She is pretty fit as well, will happily come hill walking with us, does cross country for the school, will happily rattle out a mile in the local pool etc, but if we were as lazy as her pals parents, she wouldn't do any of that.

Edit -

The irony of my answer is I don’t have time to do as much exercise as I used to because I spend 2 evenings a week and both Saturday and Sunday mornings driving them to, and sitting on the sidelines while they play various sports.

I go for a 5k run while my daughter is at her piano lesson, when she's swimming I'm in the adjoining gym.

Agreed nobeer, I have recently started to run while they have swimming coaching. A long running back issue means I've only been able to do it this year though. I used to go for a long walk.

For rugby, parents need to be pitchside, it is also nice to see them play.

I'm far more active that my wife. But our kids are quite active with school clubs and various activities. So I'm more active than them, but they're more active than my wife

It saddens me how many parents are worried about letting their kids out the door. It’s almost as if we’ve reached a point where you’ll be judged as a bad parent if you do… Kids glued to digital screens all day long. Completely different world to when we were kicked out the house at 10am and shouted back in at teatime.

I don't even know where to start ....
We have had decades now of an obsession with protecting everyone to the point it seems like the ultimate victims are everyone. Teachers that were taught by teachers who were all sorts of averse... and never attended the school, of hard knocks....

school, of hard knocks….

Followed by the university of life, and a wee Brexit facebook group? 🙂

Seriously, we can protect kids without stopping them exercising, it's 2 totally different things.

I can believe this. One of the reasons why we are resisting a move back from Australia to the UK. My eight year old has a pretty standard schedule: Monday hip hop, Tuesday sprints training, Wednesday school cycling, Thursday sprints training, Saturday (winter) hockey, Sunday (summer) surf club. So that’s five times a week before we do anything extra, same as both my wife and I. That’s pretty average for where we live. The good weather does help!

Followed by the university of life, and a wee Brexit facebook group?

Seriously, we can protect kids without stopping them exercising, it’s 2 totally different things.

It is and isn't .... the way I see it is that the two have been conflated.
What was perfectly normal in my childhood (out playing with my mates) is now tantamount to neglect.

It's a whole culture of PC ... and regulation...

*She is pretty fit as well, will happily come hill walking with us, does cross country for the school, will happily rattle out a mile in the local pool etc, but if we were as lazy as her pals parents, she wouldn’t do any of that.

Nober, that's a perfect example ...
I did all of that by myself or with mates pre-teen.
Walked/ran to the pool... walked and ran the hills... we just got on and did it... 15p from mum for the pool and 7p for the crisps after then walk home from the pool... etc.

Actually it wouldn't surprise me if my dad was more physically active than me when I was a kid. Maybe he was the exception though, walking the dog every morning (a proper strenuous half hour walk as well, not a daunder along the pavement) then doing a 15 mile there-and-back cycle commute every working day, plus a half day's gardening for a local retiree every Saturday.

I lived in a wee West Coast Scotland village, so in the summer the opportunities were there for lots of helfy activities, 1 vs 1 football matches consisting of hoofing the ball the length of the pitch then both charging after it, jumping off rocks into the sea and then fighting off the incipient hypothermia, plus all sorts of riding and trail building. But outwith the summer? (e.g. October-April)? Once a week swimming lesson, once a week badminton club, the remaining hours spent on computer looking for porn or learning to code HTML.

but they’re more active than my wife

My wife is like some sort of big, sexy cat. Ruthlessly efficient when she is required to work (or pick up after me and 2 year old mini-monk) but rest of time sleeping or stretching out on couch. Seems to work for her, she certainly spends a lot less time out injured than I do! In fairness she is now trying her hand at yoga and pilates, probably after seeing me spending 4 months on floor with herniated disc.

Mini-monk is just a 3 foot high shouting, screaming blur (how can someone with such a comical run move so fast?!) around the house, doesn't slow down until approx 1 minute before bedtime.

Walked/ran to the pool… walked and ran the hills… we just got on and did it… 15p from mum for the pool and 7p for the crisps after then walk home from the pool… etc.

That's fine if you live in the city or suburbs. We are 9 miles form the closest rugby club, 12 odd from a pool, 6 miles from the cricket club. Anywhere we/they can walk or cycle to we do but sports clubs are all a drive away.

Interesting one this. I've got two kids.

Kid1 is ten - if being immobile was a sport she could play for Wales. She runs about a bit when playing, and she likes a bike ride and such - but the difference is that between those things she just sits about, doesn't run anywhere or bounce around like kids do, and she never has. We'll go out and do something and then when we get back she'll sit playing games, reading or literally doing nothing for hours. Her energy expenditure outside of planned activities is extremely low.

Kid2 on the other hand is 8 and she's always moving - bouncing up and down, running around, wandering about the place during mealtimes (grr). When they play outside she'll be running all over the place, and Kid1 is doing whatever role in the game that requires standing still. Kid2 would be good at sports probably but she's so utterly anti-competitive that she won't partake in any, she just doesn't want to. When she's older I can imagine her running or cycling, but otherwise she doesn't want to join in. Which means both of them are crap at anything requiring body skills like football, tennis etc as they aren't constantly doing it like some kids are.

So there's only so much you can do as a parent. Riding is just about the only firm hit but because of where we live that means driving to a trail that is interesting enough for them to enjoy but not too steep for them to complete.

Kid1 gets her inertia from her mum - she is just that way inclined. Kid2 gets her anti-competitiveness from her mum too. There's only so much you can do as a parent. We limit their screen time, but even then Kid1 will just do other inside static activities anyway. When she's old enough to do big stuff like climbing mountains and bikepacking etc she might well do, but not now.

My wife is like some sort of big, sexy cat

I am adding this to my book of compliments to use on ladies.

'Awrite, ya big sexy cat' would be a killer chat line, but has to be in an Edimbourg accent, kinda Spud from TS style.

I should have said, my kid could equally sit for 24 hours watching iPad without moving if given the chance...

hooli

That’s fine if you live in the city or suburbs. We are 9 miles form the closest rugby club, 12 odd from a pool, 6 miles from the cricket club. Anywhere we/they can walk or cycle to we do but sports clubs are all a drive away.

By the time I was "pre-teens" I was doing stuff in the next town or towns not dis-similar distances away. Football was to quote the cliche "jumpers for goalposts".... but in general I just met my mates and we walked or ran (or some mates cycled) or we'd run to a place with a bus stop to places.

Very little if any was organised clubs until later.
Summer hols etc. I'd barely be home... and let myself in to make food or walk 4-5 miles to my gran.

Dunno how old you are but this was normal in the 70's.... when we read the Railway children or Enid Blighton all that stuff seemed perfectly normal)

I seem to remember spending most of my childhood either riding bikes around the neighbourhood or digging holes in the garden. We were always outside doing something.....

Misread the title as "attractive", thought it was some pro-MILF/anti-paedo thread...

Steve, don't get me wrong we did the same and my kids do plenty of playing football in the park, riding bikes in the woods and stuff like that but they still belong to clubs and these clubs are all a drive away.

Even if the bus from our village was better (it runs 5 times a day on weekdays, less on the weekend), it doesn't go near the cricket club and the rugby club would be a 45 or 50 minute trip with a walk on the other end.

Not sure what the answer is but unless we move into a town or city, I cant see them doing these things on their own until they have a moped or car.

By the time I was “pre-teens” I was doing stuff in the next town or towns not dis-similar distances away. Football was to quote the cliche “jumpers for goalposts”…. but in general I just met my mates and we walked or ran (or some mates cycled) or we’d run to a place with a bus stop to places.

That's just reminded me that aged 13, every Sat 8am some mates and I used to cycle 5 miles (on BMXs etc) to a chicken farm, pick eggs for 4hrs @ £1/hr, cycle back then get the bus into town and go swimming. Can't see many kids in Surrey doing that these days.

I am adding this to my book of compliments to use on ladies.

Dangerous territory using 'big' in a compliment, I only use it as she is 5'10" (and out of earshot)...

'Long and Lazy' might have been a more appropriate phrase (Townes Van Zandt anyone?)

We had a local grass-roots downhill race held one summer, I pitied the lads cycling 12 miles on the road on their downhill bikes to get there, and then 12 miles back!

Hooli....

Steve, don’t get me wrong we did the same and my kids do plenty of playing football in the park, riding bikes in the woods and stuff like that but they still belong to clubs and these clubs are all a drive away.

Even if the bus from our village was better (it runs 5 times a day on weekdays, less on the weekend), it doesn’t go near the cricket club and the rugby club would be a 45 or 50 minute trip with a walk on the other end.

Not sure what the answer is but unless we move into a town or city, I cant see them doing these things on their own until they have a moped or car.

I think the answer is no harm will come if they don't play rugby or cricket..
I'd never played rugby outside the very infrequent chance at school until Uni... avoided cricket as I'd rather run the XC ... etc. but it wasn't just me... quite honestly no idea if those clubs existed or not....

Now my 10yr old is in after school clubs... (partly convenient as OH teaches at the same school at the moment)... but when I was his age I'd have rushed home and played outside with mates, had tea (or dinner if you're a southerner) and been back out with my mates...

It says something when there's so much talk of kids going to clubs or the gym, as if that stuff is a requirement for staying active. It's exactly that kind of thinking that's the problem. If there are clubs nearby, and the kids want to go, great. However...

Kids are active when you kick them out at 8am for their walk to school.

They're active when they get back and play football in the street.

If they want to play cricket, or tennis, or anything else, they can play with their mates. Jumpers for goalposts and all of that.

I don't think I'm being nostalgic either. There are in some cases very real practical and safety concerns, but that is a problem we have created and it is one that we can undo. Kids should be entitled to these freedoms and I think it's somewhat shameful to construct a society without them.

I reckon I do more than my parents, despite them having all the time in the world to exercise, now they’ve retired.

Do the majority of kids go to these clubs because both of their parents work? When I was a boy, my mum didn't work. That meant I could be picked up from school and go home to play, have my tea and play some more. I couldn't have done that if my mum had been at work.

What I’m finding bizarre is the whole kids have to be doing something seven days a week from a young age. I can only recall getting kicked out of the Cubs. I was too busy climbing trees, riding bikes and being a kid.

It almost seems like it’s a competition for the parents. My child attends x number of classes per week sort of thing. Just seems weird. My eldest (5) just does swimming, occasional bouldering and a multi-sport class. The rest of his free time is spent playing Pokémon (with me and invisible Pokémon for us to battle), kicking a ball about or generally playing.

It says something when there’s so much talk of kids going to clubs or the gym, as if that stuff is a requirement for staying active. It’s exactly that kind of thinking that’s the problem. If there are clubs nearby, and the kids want to go, great. However…

Kids are active when you kick them out at 8am for their walk to school.

They’re active when they get back and play football in the street.

If they want to play cricket, or tennis, or anything else, they can play with their mates. Jumpers for goalposts and all of that.

I don’t think I’m being nostalgic either. There are in some cases very real practical and safety concerns, but that is a problem we have created and it is one that we can undo. Kids should be entitled to these freedoms and I think it’s somewhat shameful to construct a society without them.

I completely agree but we increasingly live in a nanny state that wants to take away these freedoms in the name of *something*.
I'm not really sure what that *something* actually is.... or if its warm and snuggy or soft and wet.. I'm not even sure it's known to them whomever *them* is.

It's not just kids, it seems pervasive but this talk of kids in gyms and clubs obviously has many feeling that exercise is something needs to be done "safely" which means supervised?

What for me is weirdest is although I don't agree I end up going along with it to a large extent.
My kid does after school activities ... though it's also convenient as his mum is teaching at the same school so it works out... but I guess also if he was to go to his best mates after school he'd end up playing some electronic game anyway...which is so weird as his mates' parents bought their house on the common so their kids could play..

One seemingly random thing struck me reading the news... BBC report the police prevented people leaving a shopping centre due to flooding and that is seemingly OK ??? That somehow it's justifiable to essentially detain people who have done nothing wrong for their own safety?

I can't rationalize that ... FFS before I was 10 I was swimming across Coniston... I wasn't much older when I got washed out of Ingelborough and someone thinks it's OK to decide if I can or can't make my own way home through some floods?

Kids are active when you kick them out at 8am for their walk to school.

They’re active when they get back and play football in the street.

These things are not universal. Some people just don't like football. So I can't exactly stand over my kids forcing them to kick the ball to and fro, can I? Yes, these things are quite cultural and you need to create the culture from babyhood, however a) by the time you realise how this works it's too late, b) I don't play or even watch football myself and c) there's a large element of personality invovled. Kids are not all the same nor are they copies of their parents.

Plus our school is too far away, and my daughter's only 8.

BBC report the police prevented people leaving a shopping centre due to flooding and that is seemingly OK ???

They won't have been detained, don't think that is legal - just strongly advised I'd imagine. But in any case, since it's the emergency services that have to pick up the pieces when people get into trouble it's not unreasonable to strongly encourage people to accept their advice. And remember flood water is not nice clean lake water. I am a decent swimmer but there's no way I'd go through floods just to avoid a night on a bench. Don't be a statistic, filed under 'idiots who defied advice'.

These things are not universal. Some people just don’t like football. So I can’t exactly stand over my kids forcing them to kick the ball to and fro, can I? Yes, these things are quite cultural and you need to create the culture from babyhood, however a) by the time you realise how this works it’s too late, b) I don’t play or even watch football myself and c) there’s a large element of personality invovled. Kids are not all the same nor are they copies of their parents.

Plus our school is too far away, and my daughter’s only 8.

I don't like football but when I was that age we just did STUFF.... sometimes football with jumpers and sometimes building rafts on the canal and sometimes building treehhouses or making trails for bikes...we moved when I was 10 so I'm remembering stuff based on where we lived knowing I was under 10... funnily enough weekends my dad watched football and that was enough to drive me from the house... but from memory I just remember "put your coat on" and the worst punishment being grounded.

I just can't imagine being able to do that today with the school interfering... it's bad enough having to account for his bruises after a bit of MTB...last year was a huge panic when a year 4 kid walked home alone (a whole freakin 1/2 mile) ...

They won’t have been detained, don’t think that is legal – just strongly advised I’d imagine. But in any case, since it’s the emergency services that have to pick up the pieces when people get into trouble it’s not unreasonable to strongly encourage people to accept their advice. And remember flood water is not nice clean lake water. I am a decent swimmer but there’s no way I’d go through floods just to avoid a night on a bench. Don’t be a statistic, filed under ‘idiots who defied advice’.

In Sheffield, hundreds of people - including those attending the Christmas Live event, which was cancelled - were kept inside Meadowhall centre by police after the surrounding streets were flooded.

The centre later reopened but many people chose to stay overnight, after being unable to get home.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50341846

They were arranging TAXI's.... the whole language is bullshit snowflake... unable to get home? What they can't walk through exhaust high water for 10 miles???

My principal objection to this is because many of them probably can't.... somehow we have produced a nation of pathetic capabilities where avoiding some minor discomfort is life threatening. The "Oh... I'll stay on the beach/sandbar as it's cut-off by the tide in case my mobile phone gets wet"

Kids are ferried to school... go to safe organised clubs... grow up and have kids who are ferried to school... etc. to the point it's a panic if a yr 4 kid walks 1/2 mile home ? There was no need to panic, the kid was sat on the step at home! In my day he would have let himself in and made some food?

stevextc

I can - and have - walked for miles through waste high flood water. It's a bit harsh to criticise those who don't want to do this, though.

These people were in a shopping centre, probably having driven in. They were not prepared or dressed for wading. They were of various ages. Some of the had kids. It was cold and dark (when I did my wading it was in the tropics). No-one could be sure how bad the flooding was - we've all seen floods with cars floating down the water.
If the police advised me to stay put I'd probably stay put.

I can – and have – walked for miles through waste high flood water. It’s a bit harsh to criticise those who don’t want to do this, though.

These people were in a shopping centre, probably having driven in. They were not prepared or dressed for wading. They were of various ages. Some of the had kids. It was cold and dark (when I did my wading it was in the tropics). No-one could be sure how bad the flooding was – we’ve all seen floods with cars floating down the water.
If the police advised me to stay put I’d probably stay put.

I agree it's a BIT harsh but my initial objection is the BBC wording...

were kept inside Meadowhall centre by police

How accurate that is ??? Were they physically detained or just advised?

Wider though what I see is people avoiding minor discomforts... the times I've been at Waterloo station and delays and people unwilling to walk 4-5 miles home reported as "stranded"? Quite a lot of them would normally get home then drive to a gym to go on a treadmill. (People I know)

I'm not saying everyone should ... I'm really just saying "it's a option"....

Kids rugby club 10 miles.... why not get a bike? 5 miles why not run?

These things are not universal. Some people just don’t like football. So I can’t exactly stand over my kids forcing them to kick the ball to and fro, can I? Yes, these things are quite cultural and you need to create the culture from babyhood, however a) by the time you realise how this works it’s too late, b) I don’t play or even watch football myself and c) there’s a large element of personality invovled. Kids are not all the same nor are they copies of their parents.

I hated football. Still do.

The whole point is about providing our children with the freedom to make their own activities. They go out to play, and they decide.

It's one thing being confined to a handful of activities at selected times throughout the week, but it's important to remember that not all parents can afford them, or are able to transport their kids there. And it's the transport that's one of the main factors keeping the kids confined to the house in the first place, and thus it becomes a vicious circle.

Kids should be able to wander out the front door and find an appropriate place to kick a ball about, if they wish. Or play hide and seek, British Bulldog, go to the park, or whatever.

Plus our school is too far away, and my daughter’s only 8.

Many local schools have closed down, which contributes to the problem, and that is a very modern one. As I say, this is a society of our creation. In 1971, 80% of children between the ages of 7 and 8 made their own way to school, unaccompanied by an adult. In the Netherlands, where they made an active decision to prioritise child safety in their society, I can't find the official stats just now, but I'm sure they're still pretty close to that number today.

It’s one thing being confined to a handful of activities at selected times throughout the week, but it’s important to remember that not all parents can afford them, or are able to transport their kids there. And it’s the transport that’s one of the main factors keeping the kids confined to the house in the first place, and thus it becomes a vicious circle.

Kids should be able to wander out the front door and find an appropriate place to kick a ball about, if they wish. Or play hide and seek, British Bulldog, go to the park, or whatever.

In 1971, 80% of children between the ages of 7 and 8 made their own way to school, unaccompanied by an adult.

Transport isn't needed ... it's the mindset that kids can't just wander out the front door... go to their mates and say "is johnny/jessica playing out"

My kids school REFUSES to allow 7/8yr olds to walk to school alone they have to be handed over by an adult.... it's a freakin emergency when one walks home. Year 5 they are "encouraged" to drop kids at the gates ...

In 1971, 80% of children between the ages of 7 and 8 made their own way to school

It's a shame that they allowed you to shop around for school places. This means that council-provided transport is unrealistic for every kid, because they are going to schools all over the city (ours included). When we hit school age there was no primary school within walking distance. There is now but it's heavily over-subscribed.

However, even given the above there's any number of things that could be done. Kids can very easily be bussed around, all it needs is a bit of cash for councils - nothing else. There used to be a bus (which we used) but it took an hour which is a long time for a 6 year old, but it got canned. With more money there could have been more bus routes and it'd have become a 20 minute journey from our neighbourhood, problem solved.

What we need is a government that takes problems seriously and acts.

What we need is a government that takes problems seriously and acts.

There is a huge step before that though....

It’s a shame that they allowed you to shop around for school places. This means that council-provided transport is unrealistic for every kid, because they are going to schools all over the city (ours included).

This only matters for many if we start off with an expectation it's someone's job to get our kids to school... which goes a step further back about the idea they need to be accompanied outside the house.

As far as I remember when I was 7 I was walking home with my 5yr old brother... albeit only a couple of miles... often with other kids .. sometimes not.

This has all gone a bit when I were a lad/kids don't know how lucky they are/I used to cycle 50 miles in each direction to school in the snow, uphill in both direction etc...

Kids rugby club 10 miles…. why not get a bike? 5 miles why not run?

A 9 year old on his bmx heading down the dual carriageway to play rugby? Yep, perfectly sensible.....

This has all gone a bit when I were a lad/kids don’t know how lucky they are/I used to cycle 50 miles in each direction to school in the snow, uphill in both direction etc…

i read through this and all I could think of was that monty python sketch.

5 miles why not run?

A ten mile run and rugby practice? Your kids may be absolute heroes but that's a bit too far for mine. Or me tbh.

As far as I remember when I was 7 I was walking home with my 5yr old brother… albeit only a couple of miles… often with other kids .. sometimes not.

This is the point - it's more than a couple of miles for many kids. Still, the situation is solvable with a modest amount of money. Much of which goes back to the city because we need to employ more bus drivers and mechanics and so on.

Hey you, The Darknesss

"Monday Football,
Tuesday Basketball,
Cricket on a friday night.
He's got Cross Country Club on Wednesday
Cubs on Thursday
Tag rugby on a friday
After schooollll"

A little artist license is used there in my verse and I couldn't fit in Futsal or another football practise or another basketball practise. Let alone Gymnastics on Saturday or "proper" rugby and football matches on a Sunday morn.

Costs a fortune!! All because society does not let a nine year old out to play in the park with his pals .... Oh well, what else am I going to spend my hard earned on ??

Boys are like dogs..... They need daily exercise.

And here's the epiphany .... I/we do to !!

Have fun this weekend .... I'm going to be hungover at basketball practise tomorrow morning ... not good !! its sooooo LOUD with 20 odd balls being bounced.

But double looking forward to Rugby on Sunday. It's our (I help out a little with coaching) 6th game of full contact and all the boys are doing great with tackling.... It's my highlight of the week.

A ten mile run and rugby practice? Your kids may be absolute heroes but that’s a bit too far for mine. Or me tbh.

Honestly, not trying to be too 3 yorkshiremen but when I was a kid if I wanted to do something I had to get there mostly on my own. (Not saying parents NEVER EVER took me but that was special occasions)

Not JUST me.... this is what most of us did.... (I would have cycled but nowhere to keep a bike)... no-one considered it heroic because it was normal....

Ro5ey:

All because society does not let a nine year old out to play in the park with his pals …. Oh well, what else am I going to spend my hard earned on ??

So here's the weird thing.... we used to just go and play in the park. "I'll come round your house after school and go to the park" ... etc. The park was just kids ... occasionally an adult would turn up to retrieve a kid but mostly (overwhelmingly) it was just us kids... "The woods likewise"

Now society expects/demands I take my kid to the Park which is full of other adults also accompanying their kids...

In the same way .. there is now some sort of shame attached with "latchkey kids"... and strong guidelines/legal...

The NSPCC interpretation

What the law says
Babies, toddlers and very young children should never be left alone.
Children under the age of 12 are rarely mature enough to cope in an emergency and should not be left at home alone for a long period of time.
Children under the age of 16 should not be left alone overnight.

FFS we were off camping at 13-14 alone.... my 10yr old is more than happy riding alone

I'd ask - Why aren't children under 12 mature enough to cope in an emergency (today)?
and suggest the reason is because they have been mollycoddled.... not because inherently they can't.