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Kirstie Allsopp has defended allowing her teenage son to go interrailing around Europe and claimed that “risk-averse” parenting is contributing to a crisis in young people’s mental health.
Speaking to The Independent, she said that children are being exposed to more dangers on their mobile phones than they ever could be through travel.
The Location, Location, Location star, 52, was recently reported to social services for allowing her son, then 15, to interrail around Europe for three weeks with his 16-year-old friend.
She became aware of the report when she received a message from authorities enquiring about what “safeguards” had been put in place for the teen, the Mail on Sunday reported.
A believer that “travel broadens the mind”, Allsopp refused to provide this information and was told that the case could be kept open by her local council “in case there was another referral”.
She told The Independent: “Children are being prevented from doing things which previous generations did in terms of independence, travel and being trusted to take jobs like paper rounds.
“There’s a book called The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. He doesn’t believe that mobile phones alone are causing a crisis of mental health and anxiety in young people. He believes it’s a toxic combination of mobile phones and risk-averse parenting.
“Obviously, every parent judges what is and isn’t safe for their own child to do.”
Allsopp explained: “My son is summer born. In England, the school year is from the first of September, so he is young for his year. When he asked to go travelling, he was 15 when all of his friends were 16.
“You’re not going to say to your child, ‘Well, no, sorry, you can’t go because the state says that you can start school when you’re just four, and the state says you’re capable of taking your GCSEs when you’re just 15, but now parents are saying you’re not responsible enough to do something.’”
The TV presenter explained that, in her opinion, the world is a much safer place than it was for previous generations, but young people today are being trusted less and less.
“Due to social media and 24-hour news, there’s a lot of belief that says the world is a more dangerous place when it isn’t – it just isn’t,” she said.
“We have better communication, better emergency medicine and safer transport modes. Everything that means Europe is safer than it was for previous generations.
“So why are a lot of people thinking it’s dangerous? There’s a bit of a xenophobic attitude behind it.
“A lot of people say, ‘Oh, no, it’s okay for you to go from London to Glasgow, but you’re not allowed to go from London to Paris.’
“That’s a bit strange. It’s about the same distance, and it’s a European country that we have a very good relationship with.”
Allsopp stressed that she has no issue with social services, but she does believe that a conversation should be opened up about the downsides of risk-averse parenting, which have been highlighted by the debate around her son’s interrailing.
The parent admitted that she did not believe her decision to share that her son had been travelling would be so controversial.
“I put the tweet out there saying I think this is inspiring and uplifting, and I was really proud of my son, and it was a positive thing.
“As a mother, it’s very hard to say yes to something like interrailing.
“But when he came back, it was clear that he had a fantastic trip. I thought, ‘This is positive, and I shouldn’t have been worried.’
“Obviously, you don’t need to be public about these things, but I think that if people with a public profile don't stick their head above the parapet and engage in conversation about the key issues of the day, then what is the point in having the platform?”
Allsopp noted that many young people are being given access to mobile phones at younger and younger ages, which she believes presents far more dangers than travel ever could.
“They do have curiosity, and they search for things. If you look at what young people have access to on their mobile phones, it is terrifying,” she said.
“There is more to see that is dangerous and has a real impact on a young brain than travelling to a capital city of Europe ever could.”
