How Safetyism Killed Playtime

There’s a certain type of British festival, where middle-class, middle-aged parents relive the glory days with their children in tow. It’s all cult bands from the Nineties, craft ales, and fairy lights in the broadleaved woodlands to make the walk to the campsite both pretty and safe. Kids’ activities might include pottery workshops or forest play — and they’re led by an enthusiastic couple whose nose piercings and tattoos are offset by the comforting knowledge that they’re fully trained, and DBS checked. Mum and Dad can go off to the wood-fired hot tub for an hour and know that their children will emerge unscratched by sticks and enriched by the important experience of playing with them.