[Infowarrior] - Growing up in a risk averse society

[Richard Forno]

Growing up in a risk averse society

Tim Gill
2007

£8.50 + p&p 96 pp
Col illus
ISBN 978 1 903080 08 5
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http://www.gulbenkian.org.uk/publications/education/no-fear

No Fear joins the increasingly vigorous debate about the role and  
nature of childhood in the UK. Over the past 30 years activities that  
previous generations of children enjoyed without a second thought have  
been relabelled as troubling or dangerous, and the adults who permit  
them branded as irresponsible. No Fear argues that childhood is being  
undermined by the growth of risk aversion and its intrusion into every  
aspect of children’s lives. This restricts children’s play, limits  
their freedom of movement, corrodes their relationships with adults  
and constrains their exploration of physical, social and virtual worlds.

Focusing on the crucial years of childhood between the ages of 5 and  
11 – from the start of statutory schooling to the onset of adolescence  
– No Fear examines some of the key issues with regard to children’s  
safety: playground design and legislation, antisocial behaviour,  
bullying, child protection, the fear of strangers and online risks. It  
offers insights into the roles of parents, teachers, carers, the  
media, safety agencies and the Government and exposes the  
contradictions inherent in current attitudes and policies, revealing  
how risk averse behaviour ironically can damage and endanger  
children’s lives. In conclusion, No Fear advocates a philosophy of  
resilience that will help counter risk aversion and strike a better  
balance between protecting children from genuine threats and giving  
them rich, challenging opportunities through which to learn and grow.

Tim Gill is one of the UK’s leading writers and thinkers on childhood.  
His work focuses on children’s play and free time. He appears  
regularly on national TV and radio and has written for The Guardian  
and The Independent, as well as parenting and trade magazines and  
academic journals. He was Director of the Children’s Play Council from  
1997–2004 and, in 2002, was seconded to Whitehall to lead the first  
ever Government-sponsored review of children’s play.