feel good
Parents thrilled to see Riverland's 'bike boys' get off screens and on pushbikes
The term "bike gang" is usually associated with Harley-Davidson motorcycles, tattoos and rule-breakers, but some young boys in South Australia's Riverland are offering a different take.
Whether it be after school or on the weekend, the boys can be found on their pushbikes in their hometown of Renmark.
Eleven-year-old Jude Clark and his best mate Christos Babaniotis are part of one of the groups that are impossible to miss, all of whom are affectionately known as the "bike boys".
"Sometimes there's one group, and then on the other side of town there's another group," Christos said.
"We'll just find each other and just start riding all together."
"You meet new people you haven't seen really and that's pretty cool,"Jude said.
The boys said the groups included children aged between 10 and 16, but insisted there was little competition about which "bike gang" was the best.
"Some people say 'I'm better at wheelies', but that's it," Christos said with a big smile on his face.
Winning trust of parents
In an age where parents are desperate to get their kids off their screens, what has been the secret in this regional South Australian town?
Jude's parents Daniel and Nicole Clark said it was all about trust, community and friendship.
"I was very hesitant, and there was a lot of pestering from Jude," Ms Clark said.
"He would ask, 'Can I go riding? My mates go riding. Why can't I go riding?'"
Eventually, Ms Clark was worn down and Jude and his mates were hitting the streets for hours at a time.
"Now I walk outside, and there are seven or eight kids playing basketball in the driveway, bikes everywhere," she said.
The Riverland couple said the bike boys had allowed their son Jude to grow in confidence and develop social skills.
"Jude was a kid who wouldn't go into the shops by himself,"Ms Clark said.
"Now he goes out, and he's got $10 for the day, or he's got less than that, and he has to figure out if he's got enough; he has to make decisions for himself."
Off screens and in real world
Mr Clark said the decision to give Jude more freedom was partly based on getting him away from screens.
"We wanted him to build resilience and leadership," he said.
"That's something we wanted for our kids because we really had an awesome childhood, getting into a bit of trouble, getting out of trouble.
"Jude's a pretty responsible kid. He built both our trusts, which allowed us to give him a bit more freedom."
Cyber psychology researcher Jocelyn Brewer said a lot of young children were still dealing with the effects of social isolation from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms Brewer said she continued to advocate for a balanced approach from parents when figuring out how long was too long to be looking at a screen.
"Young boys really benefit from being embodied, being able to kind of take mediated risks and kind of explore their environment," she said.
"A lot of it is just about being around one another and building skills in conversation and communication."
Regional communities creating lifelong bonds
It will come as no surprise to anyone who has ever lived regionally that the communities are tight-knit.
Daniel believes it has contributed to a renaissance of kids playing outside, at least in the Riverland town.
"You probably wouldn't have this level of trust if you were in a city,"he said.
"Jude knows if he does the right thing, then the freedoms will continue.
"But if he does the wrong thing, we'll probably find out before he gets home."
Ms Clark echoed her husband's thoughts and said having trusted people within the community made her feel comfortable that the boys were safe at all times.
"There's grandparents that see them out and about, or friends of friends," she said.
"The boys are great; they'll go up and say hello to people they know."
Christos and Jude said they appreciated the freedom and trust they had received from their parents.
That appreciation, however, did not extend to an invitation for the older generation to tag along.
"Nup, no parents allowed," Christos said with a smile.