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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Harriet Grant

Cars, dog poo, and delivery drivers: why children don’t play out anymore

Emma Wreyford and her 11-year-old daughter in Bristol.
Emma Wreyford and her 11-year-old daughter in Bristol. ‘It should be such a lovely age for outdoor play but it is almost impossible,’ says Wreyford. Photograph: Stephen Shepherd/The Guardian

When Tom Smith and his wife moved to a village five miles outside Oxford they thought they had found an ideal place to bring up children.

“There were children out in the street playing all the time – with balls, making ramps for their skateboards. It brought back memories of our own childhoods with hours spent playing outside. That was 12 years ago. But things began to change.

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