Speaking at the annual Pre-school Learning Alliance conference in Londonlast Friday, Dr Byron criticised what she called a culture of'worksheets and checklists' in education and an obsession with safetythat is preventing children from taking risks.
She said, 'We are denying children the freedom they need to be competenthuman beings. We spend millions on anodyne playgrounds, when six timesas many children are being killed after being crushed by largetelevision sets than from playground accidents. Children are stressedand anxious. They are being diagnosed with all sorts of conditions suchas ADHD, Asperger's and autism because they are not being managedproperly.'
Dr Byron, who led a Government-commissioned review on the internet lastyear, said, 'Now children are having to take their risks online ratherthan outdoors'.
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