Ben Watson, research fellow at the Institute, and one of the authors of the report, said: "Independent mobility has been shown to be good for children's wellbeing and development, yet our research shows it has dropped significantly in the last four decades. The experience from Germany shows that this drop is not an inevitable result of modern life. If we care about the future health of our children, action should be taken to enable them to regain the right to a safe outdoor environment without the need for adult supervision."