Some parents believe that allowing their children, in particular boys, to hang out excessively in the local neighborhood instead of keeping them at home reading or playing video games, will make them streetwise.

“I prefer my son spends his free time outdoors. This will give him a strong personality,” said Nasreen Talal.

Other parents argue that allowing children to hangout puts them in danger and they risk being kidnapped, hit by vehicles and picking up bad habits such as abusing drugs.

“My son is safe at home. In my opinion, playing video games is a much better way to spend his free time than hanging out on the street where he can be targeted by drug dealers and perverts,” said Thuriya Al-Othaibi.

Mahmoud Abdul-Rehman Mahmoud, a community medicine doctor and drug researcher, said the trick is to balance between giving children some freedom that is underscored by a sense of responsibility.

“A lot of children who are kept completely sheltered, when they grow up and it is time for them to be independent, they go toward one of two extremes — meaning they are either too innocent for their own good and it is very easy for people with bad intentions to fool them and take advantage of them, or they become corrupt and do all the things their parents tried to shelter them away from,” said Mahmoud.

“Children should be allowed to spend time indoors and outdoors and they should be supervised. When you tell a child not to do something it is good to explain to them why not. It is also good to teach a child how to react in an emergency, like if they find themselves lost. You should teach them how to make a phone call and who to speak to,” he added.

“Children’s friends should also be monitored because bad friends can be a source of a lot of trouble. Let your child know that friends should only be trusted in sensible matters and not blindly. For example, if your son gets invited to a party then tell him to ensure it’s a genuine party before going and not a ruse to get him alone in an apartment,” he added.