Keeping Children Safe: The Effect on Parents' Daily Lives and Psychological Well-being

The aim of this article is to present qualitative data from a study of mothers on a housing estate in Leeds, UK, enabling them to voice their concerns about child safety. The estate contains many environmental hazards, from traffic, 'drugusers', 'strangers' and litter. A high profile given to the vulnerability of children in public places has resulted in parents becoming ever vigilant and subjecting children to increased surveillance, in the face of a lack of environmental measures which would support their efforts to keep children safe. There are costs to parents in time and activities foregone. Moreover, the emphasis on the key role of parents in child safety and the perception of increasing hazards to children is affecting parents' psychological well-being. The article attempts to place parents' concerns within a social context which may begin to explain parental behaviour and anxieties.