ABSTRACT
The dominant twentieth century western society imagining of children as vulnerable, incompetent and in need of protection – that was outlined in Chapter One – contributes towards structuring the way we think about parenting and how children should be brought up. Popular discourses about appropriate ways to raise children are produced around many different issues, from what they should be fed or clothed in, to what they should be allowed to watch on television. As the previous chapter outlined, recent high profile cases of child abductions and murders in both the US and UK have focused attention on parenting cultures and children’s safety in public space. Parents determine the extent of their children’s personal geographies by deciding at what age they should be allowed outside alone and at what age and when, they may go to different places (the shops, school, the park, the city centre etc.) unaccompanied by an adult. This chapter begins by considering whether, and how, parents vary these sorts of boundaries according to the gender, age and position in the family of their children. It then goes on to consider how what it means to be a ‘good parent’ – in terms of managing children’s independent use of space – is negotiated and contested within different local communities.
