Here comes the summer

What is childhood? What is childhood meant to be? Never before has government invested so much time and money in trying to improve childhood, yet society has never been so confused or anxious about what childhood should be. Everyday we are confronted with mixed messages about children's lives - children are under too much pressure at school, children commit crime, children are the victims of crime, parents are too frightened to give children independence, children are bored, children are over-stimulated and the list goes on. As parents and playworkers, we are pulled every which way by the media.