Research shows that 1 in 3 British people have maintained a lifelong friendship with their childhood neighbour
We all have fond memories of evenings and weekends spent playing out with your pals who lived next door or just up the road.
Those were the days, weren't they?!
And a new study has found that, in fact, a THIRD of British adults aged 25 and over are still friends with the people they lived near as children.
N'aww.
In a study by Web Blinds of 2,379 British adults aged 25 and over, 1 in 3 were found to have maintained friendships with people they lived near in their childhood.
A whopping 34% of people studied said that they were "still friends to this day" with their neighbours, and almost a fifth of people had their first kiss with a nearby pal too.
And - even cuter still - 4% were actually in a relationship with or had MARRIED someone that they lived near as a child.
How amazing is that?!
However, things took a rather melancholy turn when the subjects were asked about the behaviour of their own children.
Only 23% of people were happy to let their children play outside with neighbourhood children - that's less than a quarter.
The other 77% were asked why they weren't happy with their children playing out near the house, and 27% of them said that their children would rather be in the house, either watching TV or playing video games.
What a sorry state of affairs.
We can remember our childhood with such fondness, playing outside with other children and being absolutely exhausted from running around all day by teatime.
Another 23% of people said that they were wary of dangerous people wandering the area, which makes sense but...
Other reasons given ranged from the rather snooty: "My child is too busy with other activities to play in the neighbourhood," and "My children might play with other children I don't know," to the slightly concerning: "I live in an unsafe neighbourhood."
Eek. We feel sorry for the poor kids who are growing up without dirty knees and scraped elbows!
What do YOU think?
Do you let your kids play outside with other children? We want to hear from YOU. Let us know over on Facebook and Twitter.
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