If my parents had raised me the same way now as they did in the 1970s and '80s, I'm sure they would attract the ire of other parents. I had quite a few responsibilities at home as well as a lot of freedom outside of it. I learned how to make lunches, do laundry, walk the dog; and pop down to the shops by the age of seven. My friends and I were regular movie-goers by about eight or nine years. By 10, I took public transport, and by 17 I hitch-hiked around Scotland. I would not trade my freedom for the world.

But children's lives today are less free range, to use a term popularised by American columnist Lenore Skenazy, a recent visitor to Australia, who was roundly condemned two years ago after she let her then nine-year-old son take the New York subway on his own.

Allowing children to take some risks will make them more competent adults. Credit:Steven Siewert

I loved my adventures, and feel claustrophobic for children now as the things I enjoyed have now been labelled "unsafe" or "risky". I conducted some research in the Western suburbs of Melbourne in 2008 to find out how parents, local government staff and policy dealt with the risk of children going places on their own. In contrast to my own experiences, 68 per cent of parents did not allow their children to walk or cycle to or from school; even fewer were allowed to go to other places on their own.

While local government staff believed children should be allowed to go places alone, a variety of policies from the local to the international level discourage free ranging and foster controlled activity such as after-school programs and adult-organised sports. Part of the problem is legal liability. One interviewee in my study noted ". . . all it takes is one [incident], you know, and council could be issued with a huge writ. So it's reality and it's something that we need to be mindful of."