Rethinking conceptualisations of adult-imposed restriction and children's experiences of autonomy in outdoor space

Abstract

This paper calls for more sensitive understandings of children's experiences of autonomy and restriction in outdoor space. The study with children and adults living in a suburban area of Cape Town, South Africa, suggests that the imposition of adult structure and surveillance on childhood should not be automatically perceived as negative. The children's experiences were more nuanced and must be contextualised with reference to the predominant concern with (in)security in these suburban geographies. The notion of accompanied mobility is then considered to suggest how children's outdoor mobility might be framed as a collective or community responsibility, as opposed to an individualistic concern of parents.

Keywords:

• childhood autonomy
• adult surveillance
• accompanied mobility
• South Africa

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to the ESRC for funding my doctoral research. I thank Professor Klaus Dodds and Professor Katie Willis and three anonymous reviewers who provided thorough and constructive criticism. Finally, I thank my research participants without whom this paper would not have been possible.

Notes

All names replaced with pseudonyms.