Parenthood, and childhood, has changed a lot since the more carefree decades of the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.

Back then, kids often played in the street with neighbourhood friends, told simply to be home by dark.

These days, in a busy world with increased risks, children are kept on a tighter rein as parents try to ensure their safety.

Young lives are also often highly structured and scheduled, with much greater pressure to achieve benchmarked goals, and an online world that makes it dangerously easy for both parents and children to succumb to comparisons and screen time.

Caravan parks create sense of community

In many ways it seems caravan parks create a more simple childhood environment reminiscent of decades gone by and it is one families are increasingly embracing.

Vanessa Ross from the Central Coast of New South Wales enjoys caravanning with her husband and two children and said she liked being able to give her kids greater freedom and independence.

“I think in suburbia there’s not that trust out there that there used to be,” she said.

“Growing up as a child myself I played with all my neighbours, but our kids have never played with their neighbours, because you don’t know everyone like you used to, there’s no ‘go to the safety house’ like you used to.

“It’s different in a caravan park.

“Here everyone is doing the same thing, everyone is relaxed, everyone is trying to find that same connection.

Key points:

• Families are increasingly embracing caravan park holidays to give children the opportunity to enjoy independent, outdoor play
• Caravan parks can create a safe space for children to play unsupervised with real-life objects and without devices
• There is a rise of the longer-term caravan/camping holidays, with families taking more than a month off to travel with their children

Source
ABC News