David Cameron has noticed that health and safety regulations stop schools taking children out on field trips, outdoor activities orjust collect autumn leaves down the local park. And the 1Department for Children, Schools and Families is to issueguidelines about extra-curricular activities, with aiming to get 2pupils out of classrooms and back into the real world. I suppose school-organized, adult-supervised activities arebetter than nothing. And they're really not good enough. Indeed, 3excess health and safety measures at school are just the tip of the 4risk aversion iceberg leaving increasing numbers of young people without the emotional resilience, social competence and personal confidence to thrive in our society. The Institute for PublicResearch, couple of years ago, found British youngsters at or near 5the top of the European charts for almost every type of teenagemisconduct. Nothing is mightily wrong with childhood in Britain, 6and after thirty years working with children and teachers(the lasteight years which were spent researching 'toxic childhood'), I 7reckon my risk aversion—not just in schools but in every area of 8life—is a major part of the problem. A combination of parental anxiety, community intoleranceand all-pervasive risk aversion now threaten the mental and 9physical health of the next generation. This is becoming a matter 10of urgency that we reclaim public space for our children and relearn skills that came naturally to our ancestors.