I was allowed during my pre-teens to walk or cycle to the park, half a mile away, unsupervised, make camps in the woods with mates and play near unsupervised ponds.

I knew every "secret" path through the woods. A second sense seemed to warn me of danger, I suppose it was all part of learning by experience.

I climbed trees (not very high because I was frightened of heights) and cycled for miles from one town to another from the age of about 11.

I used the bus and walked to school from the age of eight, and from age 11 travelled by train 25 miles to college each day.

We were all outdoor kids, we took a tumble occasionally, and learned by it, and by mid teens were pretty well equipped to cope with life (except girls which were a constant mystery).

A generation and a half on and parents have become totally over-protective, and a new study has shown that parents who wrap their kids in cotton wool curb their sense of adventure and risk turning them into adults who struggle to deal with a challenge.

Today's parents are guilty of being totally over-protective, denying their offspring the opportunity to take part in activities they would have taken for granted when they were young, say Play England, which carried out the survey.

The organisation say it's not the end of the world if a child has a minor accident. Parents now believe that children were more at risk today than they were 25 years ago and more at risk in public spaces than when at home.

But, say Play England, the opposite is true – and three times as many children are taken to hospital each year after falling out of bed than falling from trees!

While the majority of children are denied free play in woods, near rivers or near trees, by contrast three quarters were allowed to surf the internet without adult supervision.
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And what do parents say is to blame? The arrival of health and safety legislation and a society ready to point the finger at a parent instantly a child is injured.

Pretty sad indictment of today's society, isn't it?