Do you think kids these days are sheltered?

Remember playing on metal monkey bars? Or out unsupervised in the street even after it was dark because it was safe to do?

By today’s standards the playgrounds you played on would be too dangerous. Gone are the days of the joyous cries and laughter of children in the street, even before the sun has a chance to settle on the horizon.

But it goes much further than the playground and the front yard.

It feels like everything these days are so safe for children. There’s no need for your children to wrap their children up in cotton wool because it feels like society is doing it for them.

When you look back at the hours spent watching Tom and Jerry or the Looney Toons with that Wyle E Coyote, it’s hard to imagine that what was being viewed then is considered too violent for a child now.

There has been plenty of discussion about parents that constantly hover over their children’s play time, homework, and just about all of their life decisions.

And Heaven forbid teachers be upfront about how a child is actually performing in class. He or she might be just downright naughty, but you can bet your bottom dollar someone spent their years in medical school coming up with an acronym for it.

Sure, being a parent is a constant risk assessment battle. Will you let your child play football? Is it okay for your child to walk home from school in the afternoon? Are you going to let your child have a sleepover? What will happen if your child climbs that tree?

No one is saying parents should stop considering the risks associated with things that are dangerous. You definitely want children to be aware of Stranger Danger; hearts break when you think about Daniel Morcombe.

More recently there has been debate about whether children are being given a completely misleading view of the way in which the world works because they are not being exposed to disappointment, failure or even having to try. Everyone’s a winner, it would seem.

Is too much hand-holding removing a child’s ability to be independent? Do you think kids these days are too sheltered?