keep children safe but don’t rap them in cotton wool

Traditional games such as conker and snowball fights could be revived to prevent children turning into “cotton wool kids”.  Ed Balls said he was shocked by research that said that one third of children aged 7 to 12 were never allowed to play outside because their parents were concerned about safety.  Mr Balls said it wasn’t the Government’s place to tell parents and school were to draw the line between children’s safety and giving them freedom but hoped a consultation document published today would help provoke a public debate and would provide information on risks.  He added that the Government would be mounting a public education campaign to encourage parents to let their children play outside.

(Times, p27)