Some ofthe problem, at least in my part of Australia, is there isn't really any outdoors to play in anymore.
When I was a kid, house sizes were smaller and blocks were larger. The house I grew up in would have been < 100 square metres, and the block about 1000 square meters or so. This meant loads of backyard; we had a large workshop (loads of wood, tools etc), a chook run, a few fruit trees, some trees for climbing, paved area (concrete slabs) for bikes, some grass and a veggie patch. Now most houses are well over 200 square metres, and land much smaller. Many new housing developments near us call anything over 500m2 'large'
And beyond the house... when I was a kid there were large areas of natural bush land to play in/explore. Now they're pretty much all gone, replaced in part by (what we call) ovals - a grass playing area for footy/soccer and with perhaps a swing and slide in the sun. Not much fun.
Roads are busier too. We built a go-kart (non motorised) and my parents had no problems letting us tear down the local hill road in it. Street cricket or footy was also very common, but again, just not possible now
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Some ofthe problem, at least in my part of Australia, is there isn't really any outdoors to play in anymore.
When I was a kid, house sizes were smaller and blocks were larger. The house I grew up in would have been < 100 square metres, and the block about 1000 square meters or so. This meant loads of backyard; we had a large workshop (loads of wood, tools etc), a chook run, a few fruit trees, some trees for climbing, paved area (concrete slabs) for bikes, some grass and a veggie patch. Now most houses are well over 200 square metres, and land much smaller. Many new housing developments near us call anything over 500m2 'large'
And beyond the house... when I was a kid there were large areas of natural bush land to play in/explore. Now they're pretty much all gone, replaced in part by (what we call) ovals - a grass playing area for footy/soccer and with perhaps a swing and slide in the sun. Not much fun.
Roads are busier too. We built a go-kart (non motorised) and my parents had no problems letting us tear down the local hill road in it. Street cricket or footy was also very common, but again, just not possible now
'That' Australia still exists, although it been displaced by the tentacles of many property developers and their sympathetic councils.
Move away from overcrowded big cities, and you will have all the room you desire.