As a parent with an 8 and 6 year old, living on a busy road, with no lighting and in a rural setting, letting my children go outside unsupervised is not even considered. But when I was 8 years old, I used to disappear for the day playing at least a mile away from home, no food, no drink and no supervision!

I got mucky, dirty, wet sometimes but never really came to any major harm. Of course, I did get cuts and bruises but my memories are good ones and I had a great time playing games, running around and climbing trees.

Has our culture and society really changed that much?

With many reports in the media about the Government's plans to spend £225m on outdoor play areas, having closed them all down to stop "hoodies" hanging around - WHY now completely back track?

I am not saying don't spend - I think that we should definitely have more playing areas for our children to go to and be safe, fit and healthy. We all know that video games and TV are a major part of their lives and always will be, but with obesity in children on the increase should we be taking a look at how really dangerous it is in our children's world or are we just over protective?. Bad people have always been around, and sadly always will be but I do believe that the majority of people are kind, helpful and want to have children that are confident and have the ability to look after themselves. If we don't let them learn these independent skills will we be raising a generation of children that are not adventerous, won't take a risk and not know the excitement of doing something a little risky!

You can read the article from Telegraph here.