I remember long summers of playing out doors with only the instruction to come home for tea. My friends and I didn’t get up to much, we lived in Norfolk so there wasn’t MUCH we could have got up to if I’m honest, but we had fun outside all day long.

We would ride our bikes down to the the weir (sounds pretty dangerous now I think about it, what if one of us had fallen in) or up to the fields where we would make crop circles to fool the farmer. I still to this day think that all crop circles must be made by children with too much time on their hands! Our parents didn’t bat an eye lid, happy for us to be out in the sunshine and wearing ourselves out. They didn’t worry.

Times have changed and I wonder will it ever be safe for my children to play out in a street that we live on? If I lived back in Norfolk then perhaps on some streets it would be? Perhaps, but I’m still not sure. There’s no way I’d let them out on their own when they turn seven, eight, nine or ten. The ages I used to be off on my bike and up to the river! Perhaps by eleven and I might start to consider it…

We obviously live in London and although I know of families on my street who do let their young children play out the front, I can’t imagine that I will be doing the same. Even at eleven or twelve and I wouldn’t want a child on their own in London. My sister is twelve and in one way she’s pretty grown up but really she is still just a child and there’s no way I would feel comfortable with her going out on her own here. I might let her walk to the corner shop if she came straight back but going out on a bike all day would be entirely out of the question. It’s too vast, too many people and probably, I’m just more safety conscious than my own parents were twenty years ago.

I ‘m sure the world might have been just as dangerous back when I was little. For sure we could have just as easily fallen in the river as a child could now but maybe we’re more aware of dangers these days. Perhaps we had a bit of rose tint back then and didn’t think about it in quite the same way? There must have been child molesters and rapists but maybe without internet access it was more hidden and maybe we didn’t see it because of that.

So, in one way it IS a shame that ‘these days’ our children can’t play out on their own but in another way, I’d rather be aware of the dangers thank you very much and if it means keeping my children in and having them have a slightly different childhood to me then so be it. Times move on. We learn new things every day. Science, study and observation mean we have to move on with the way we do things and that includes this! My children will have an active childhood but not an independent one!

MY LIFE WITH 2!

So, the summer holidays are in FULL swing and although nothing changes for us when we go back in September, it was still sad to say goodbye to some of our friends at nursery who will be moving up. Florence had a lovely Teddy Bear’s picnic at school and when it was her last session of ballet all the parents got to come in and watch. I felt so proud of her as I watched how far she’s come on in just two terms of ballet and tap. She is very good. I know, I know, I would say that, I’m her Mummy, but she is!

And Jimmy’s been making us all laugh this week! Jonny has taught him to blow the lights on and off and he giggles so much when he does it. Obviously Jonny is doing them by the switch but the look on Jimmy’s face when he thinks it’s him doing it is priceless! Florence joins in although she’s definitely not falling for it anymore!

I see the differences so much between my boy and girl. Jimmy is so, well, boyish! He throws himself at things and thuds down on the floor. He constantly has a bruise or a bloody nose or a scuffed knee and he doesn’t even seem to care, just gets back up and throws himself at something else. I haven’t done anything differently yet Florence is much gentler and girlie. It MUST be genetics!

We started the holidays off with a great start (actually before they’d really started) and took ourselves off the the Princess Diana Park in Central London last week. It’s one of our fave places to visit, free and SO much fun! I’m hoping to take the children a few more times this summer too as it really is SO fab!

Well, that’s it for another week and what a week its been too too – may this sunshine keep rolling! See you again next week and in the mean time please do follow me on Twitter @rocknrollerbaby.

I was not paid for any part of this post.

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