英国父母担心孩子安全 日益看紧孩子

Fearful parents are saying no to sleep-overs, banning children as old as 15 from using public transport on their own and watching over their kids like hawks at the local park, according to a new British study.

The survey of 6,099 people commissioned by LV= Streetwise, a charity that educates children about safety, revealed that nearly a quarter of children aged 15 or under were not allowed to sleep at a friend's house, 60 percent were forbidden to travel on public transport alone and 43 percent can't go to the park without a parent or guardian.

It said more than 60 percent of mums and dads think the world is more dangerous than when they were kids.

"It's difficult for parents to know when is the right time to step back and allow children to experience things on their own, and this report shows just how much things have changed over the last generation," said LV= group chief executive Mike Rogers in a statement.

In contrast, just four percent of today's adults say they were banned from sleeping-over when they were 15 or younger, only two percent were forbidden to use public transport, and the same number couldn't go out on their own in familiar surroundings, such as their local town or park.

"Stranger danger" is the number one worry for over half of all parents (54 percent), followed by bullying (47), mugging (47) and road danger (34).

On average, children today can look forward to walking to school on their own by the age of 11, use public transport on their own at 12, and babysit their brother or sister by the time they're 14.

In contrast, parents say they were allowed to walk to school unaccompanied at the age of nine, use public transport alone by the time they were 11, and babysit a sibling by the time of their 12th birthday.

Parents know they are being tougher on their children and over a third said they felt uneasy that their kids do not get the same opportunities as they did to experience freedom as a youngster.

LV= Streetwise released the survey to launch its safety roadshow, which helps to educate children about safety in the home and outdoors.

英国一项最新调查表明，英国父母因担心孩子的安全问题，不让孩子在外过夜，不让年龄不满15岁的子女单独乘坐公共交通工具，而且在带孩子到公园玩时会像老鹰一样紧紧地盯着他们。

这项由LV= Streetwise儿童安全教育慈善组织委托开展的调查共有6099人参加。调查显示，在15岁或15岁以下的儿童中，近四分之一的孩子被禁在朋友家过夜，60%的孩子不准单独乘坐公共交通工具，43%的孩子在没有父母或监护人的陪同下不能单独去公园。

调查称，超过60%的父母认为，如今的社会环境不如他们小时候安全。

LV=Streetwise组织的首席执行官麦克．罗杰斯在一份声明中说：“对于父母来说，何时选择退后一步，让孩子们单独去经历一些事情是很难的。该报告显示出在过去一代中，有多少事情发生了变化。”

相比之下，只有4%的父母称在他们15岁时或更小的时候不能在外过夜，只有2%的人在那个年龄被禁止单独乘坐公共交通工具，同等数量的人称他们当时不能单独去当地的城镇或公园等熟悉的环境。

一半以上的父母（54%）最担心（孩子遇到）“来自陌生人的危险”，其次是受到欺负（47%），遭抢劫（47%）和道路安全问题（34%）。

一般来说，如今的孩子11岁时可以自己走路去上学，12岁时能单独乘坐公共交通工具，14岁的时候能帮忙照看弟弟妹妹。

而父母一代的人在他们9岁时就能自己走路去上学，11岁时就可以单独乘坐公共交通工具，12岁时就能 帮忙照看弟弟妹妹。

父母们知道现在他们对自己的孩子看得更严。超过三分之一的父母说，自己的孩子不能像他们小时候那样享受自由，这也让他们感到担心。

LV= Streetwise机构开展这一调查是为了宣传他们即将开始的儿童安全教育巡展，该巡展旨在为对儿童进行在家中和户外的安全教育提供帮助。

Vocabulary:

sleep over: to stay the night at somebody else's home 在别人家里过夜

roadshow: 巡展；路演