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The world has changed a lot over the years. Technology has become so pervasive that it’s not uncommon to even see smartphones in the hands of babies. Meanwhile, a majority of people seem more afraid of the world around them. Long gone are the days when you could open a window and hear the sound of children playing in the neighborhood. You barely see kids riding bikes anymore.

It’s not clear if there’s a link between the rise of technology and the idea that the world is less safe, although it wouldn’t really be surprising. What is clear is that children are longing for time without the screens that they are so often criticized for being glued to. The problem is, they aren’t allowed to do the things that would let them get away from screens. Specifically, parents aren’t letting their kids play outside anymore.

Fewer parents let kids play unsupervised in their own front yards anymore.

In a report published in The Atlantic written by Lenore Skenazy, Zach Rausch, and Jonathan Haidt, the trio of authors discussed just what the problem is with the technology-filled world in which today’s kids live. They partnered with the Harris Poll to survey a group of 500 children between the ages of 8 and 12. More than 25% of the respondents said they weren’t allowed to play in their own front yard without supervision.

Kolbakova Olga | Shutterstock

This stands in stark contrast to what kids actually want. The survey also asked them how they prefer to spend time with their friends. A whopping 45% said in-person free play that is unsupervised. Meanwhile, only 30% indicated that they preferred organized activities like sports leagues, and 25% said their favorite way to spend time with their friends was to do so virtually.

Basically, kids want to run around with their friends without structure. Unfortunately, most of their physical activity seems to come from organized activities like going to gymnastics or other sports.

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A separate survey from the Harris Poll asked parents what they assumed would occur if 10-year-olds played in the park together without adults there to watch over them. Sixty percent of the parents thought the kids would get injured, while another 50% believed they would be kidnapped.

It’s not surprising that parents are concerned about this. According to the Child Crime Prevention and Safety Center, a child goes missing in the United States every 40 seconds. With the popularity of true crime shows that detail these abductions, and the familiarity of news reports about yet another missing child, how can parents not worry?

Interestingly, it is much more likely for children to be abducted by their family members than by a stranger. About 50% of U.S. kidnapping cases occur at the hands of a family member, while 27% are caused by acquaintances and the rest by strangers. So, the proverbial horror story of a stranger grabbing a kid who’s playing in their front yard isn’t as common as the media would have you believe.

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As Skenazy, Rausch, and Haidt pointed out, it’s a lot easier to hand your kid a tablet and tell them to play a game or watch a video where they’ll be inside their home and within the view of trusted adults. But this is detrimental to children’s development.

 They crave the freedom to go outside and play with their friends. There’s no reason they shouldn’t be allowed to do so in the front yard, where they are just steps or a scream away from help.

Katya Wolf | Pexels

All For Kids, an organization that aims to create safe environments for children everywhere, noted that there is a link between mental health issues in children and the amount of technology they use. This isn’t surprising. Even adults can feel depressed after scrolling through social media and seeing what they assume are everyone’s perfect lives.

Even if the easiest thing to do is to hand your child an electronic device or sit them in front of a screen, think about the effect that has on them and what they would really like to be doing. Playing in the front yard can be the first step towards a bit more independence that gets them away from screens.

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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.