@eco-alex, We as parents are too overprotective when the children are out to play. We do need to give them more freedom and stop covering them up so much with safety equipment etc. With that said another issue about protection is playing without watching over them. It would be so awesome to get the children outside playing with kids on the block. Tag, hide and go seek, kick the can, street hockey and so much more but sadly even in a small community most neighbourhoods are not safe. Concerns today are drugs being sold in parks, unleashed vicious dogs, bullies, pedophiles and so much more. Was this all going on when I grew up? is it more prevalent now? I think we have a more perverse society with no conscious of doing what is right. I live in a small community and I am so disheartened by the people. Been wondering if I should move but then where would I go? We have become a socialist society where people are watching everything and ready to pounce to call the law. Until the people go back to the way they were, honesty, integrity, loyality, selfgoverned instead of depending on the law for everything, our society will continue to degrade. As our society degrades it makes it hard to give independance to our children for fear of them being taken away, injured or worse. I would love to see the streets filled with children's laughter and play just not sure it is possible anymore. Uggg, I sound so negative but it is the way it is.