Difference in perception

Children and young people were asked to identify ways in which individuals of different ages, genders and backgrounds might determine what is safe and what is not, and to provide examples. Young people believed that younger children generally assessed risk based on what was immediately in front of them, whereas they placed the risk in context and related it to past experience. They felt that younger children were more likely to base their fears on what was imagined or how they felt in the moment but were more likely to take adults’ guidance in relation to what was and was not safe. They were concerned that adults often didn’t appreciate the extent to which kids worried, and saying things like ‘don’t be silly’ or ‘that’s just imaginary’ didn’t acknowledge children’s fears. They also felt that younger children were more at risk in that they were more likely to trust unsafe adults and, due to their smallness, feel pressured to do what adults told them to. Young people provided this view:

‘Not everything they fear is imaginary. That’s what parents get wrong. They think that ’cause they’re little they’re not telling the truth or they’ve imagined it but most of the time they’re telling the truth but people don’t believe them because they’re little. And anyway it’s real to them so adults should listen.’ ‘They need to understand their child and accept what they’re saying’, ‘instead of just hitting them because they think they’re lying’, ‘trust their kids, try and help them through it.’ (YP-4)

Older children felt that teenagers were more likely to put themselves at risk because they enjoyed the thrill, while children their age were more cautious.

Young people agreed, observing that people their age often sought out thrilling experiences and noted that being unsafe was a key aspect of this. They recounted situations where they were dared to do things, such as entering ‘haunted houses’ or construction sites, or to play on railway tracks, and recognised that the ‘rush’ that they experienced, as well as the validation of their peers, played

‘Sometimes it can be thrilling to do something that is unsafe’, ‘like when you’re trying to impress people’, ‘when you’re trying to go your own way and be more independent from adults’, ‘when you’re with the wrong crowd.’ (YP-2)

Young people felt that they were less likely to seek out adults to get help than children, and were expected (and had expectations) to deal with issues themselves. In most instances they believed that they had the skills to do so but that it was still important for adults to be accessible to them when necessary.

They argued that there were some ‘big’ issues that they felt they should be able to talk to adults about but would not do so for fear of the consequences.

‘There’s lots of things that young adults will never talk to adults about – like being pressured into sex, or being homosexual, or their worries – because they know they’re going to get judged or because it will be too uncomfortable or because they don’t know that anything good is going to come out of it.’ (YP-3)

Young people, mostly young women, in four of the focus groups believed that young men were more likely to take risks but less likely to worry about safety issues. Young women were seen as being more at risk of being pressured into doing something they didn’t feel comfortable doing, and due to their relatively smaller frames were less able to protect themselves and more likely to feel unsafe.

‘They’re more reckless’, ‘boys are bigger and stronger’, ‘they don’t really care as much’, ‘they don’t think as much, they just do it while girls will stop and think about it.’ ‘Boys are able to stand up for themselves while girls think “if I got stuck I don’t know if I could protect myself”.’ ‘Boys don’t think about what could happen after they’ve done it; they just think about what’s going on right now.’ ‘If they’re unsafe at home it’s not usually their fault’, ‘but if they are around it they probably know how to deal with it better than girls, can stand up for themselves better.’ (YP-3)

Young people felt that young women were more likely to be unsafe and that young men were more likely to place themselves in unsafe situations. They did note that boys were more likely to be ‘picked’ by other boys for fights and may be more likely to be attacked by angry adults but also felt that they were more likely to be able to deal with these encounters.

Children and young people often believed that adults primarily assessed risk based on their own experiences as children. This, they believed, meant that adults would minimise children’s concerns rather than recognising that what children experience now might be different from what it was in the past. They stressed that adults needed to be better informed about what was going on for children these days rather than relating everything to their own past experience.

Participants also believed that adults were often over-protective or over-cautious, particularly on issues related to things they may not understand, such as the internet and social media. Children and young people contended that these media carried some risks but believed that they weren’t as risky as adults perceived them to be. They also believed that young people had skills (which were better than adults’ skills) in managing these risks if they were to occur.

‘Sometimes adults say that the internet isn’t safe but it really [is]. People can’t really reach you on the internet – well not really – even though adults think they can. We’ve got control over it and we’re better at [looking after ourselves] than adults think … We don’t see it as much of a threat.’ (YP-2)

‘We’re safer than their generation. They might click on something on the iPad and go somewhere they shouldn’t go but we’re used to using it and know what we’re doing. We know what will happen if we do something when they mightn’t just because they haven’t used it as much.’ (YP-2)

‘Your parents always ask you, “What’s this?” because they haven’t come across it before. I know that I’m safer on the internet than they are and safer than what they think I am because I know what I’m doing.’ (YP-3)

Some participants thought that adults (and some older young people) were more anxious (and over- protective) of children because they were more aware of the risks than in previous generations. They felt that this led to children and young people having less freedom than before. This was a problem for many of the older young people who felt that younger children were spending too much time inside watching television and playing computer games because adults didn’t trust that they would be safe outside the home. At the same time though, they had the idea that adults spent less time with children these days than adults had in the past and that children were less safe and felt less cared for than before.

‘I think they overthink too much. They always think about the bad stuff and when they think about when they were young they only think about the bad stuff not how they were always safe... And they see stuff on the news, and it’s all about the bad stuff and they get over- protective.’ (YP-1)

When asked whether they thought they would be more or less protective than their parents when they had children of their own, young people suggested that they would most likely be more concerned about their children’s safety but give children more of a say in how things might be dealt with.