Risky play is essential for children's development, fostering resilience, confidence, and critical life skills. Here we explore the multifaceted benefits of risky play and offer insights into how parents and educators can support it.
What Is Risky Play?
Risky play refers to thrilling and exciting activities that carry a possibility of physical injury. Examples include climbing trees, balancing on logs, exploring unfamiliar areas, or engaging in rough-and-tumble play. These activities allow children to test their limits, assess risks, and experience the thrill of uncertainty.
1. Enhances Physical Health
Engaging in risky play encourages physical activity, which is crucial for children's health. Activities like climbing, running, and jumping help develop strength, co-ordination, and balance. Moreover, such play can reduce sedentary behaviour, contributing to overall physical well-being.
2. Builds Emotional Resilience
Risky play exposes children to manageable levels of fear and stress, teaching them how to cope with challenging situations. This exposure helps build emotional resilience, enabling children to handle anxiety and adversity more effectively.
3. Develops Cognitive Skills
When children engage in risky play, they make decisions, solve problems, and assess situations—key components of cognitive development. They learn to evaluate potential dangers and make informed choices, enhancing their decision-making abilities.
4. Fosters Social Competence
Participating in group risky play activities, such as building forts or playing tag, requires communication, co-operation, and negotiation. These interactions help children develop social skills and understand group dynamics.
Addressing Safety Concerns
While the term "risky" may raise concerns, it's important to distinguish between acceptable risks and hazards. Acceptable risks are those that children can assess and manage, like climbing a tree. Hazards are hidden dangers that children cannot foresee, such as broken equipment. By removing hazards and allowing acceptable risks, parents & educators can create safe environments that still offer developmental benefits.
Teaching children to assess risk is key to empowering them to make safe decisions while embracing new challenges:
Model Risk Assessment
Demonstrate how to evaluate a situation out loud. For example, "This rock is high, but it's stable. I think I can climb it if I use both hands."
Ask Guiding Questions
Instead of issuing commands, ask questions like "What do you think will happen if you step there?" or "Is there another way to do that more safely?"
Encourage Reflection
After play, discuss what went well and what could be done differently. Help children learn from their experiences.
Support Small Risks First
Start with lower-risk situations to help children build confidence. As they grow more capable, allow for gradually increasing levels of risk.
Praise Thoughtful Risk-Taking
Acknowledge when children show awareness of their limits or make a good decision based on risk.
Parenting Tips to Encourage Safe Risky Play
Parents play a critical role in creating a balanced approach to risky play. Here are ways they can encourage it safely:
Resist the Urge to Say "Be Careful"
Instead, use specific language like "Notice how that branch moves" or "Think about where your foot goes next."
Create a Play-Friendly Space
Choose playgrounds and natural areas that allow for exploration, climbing, and movement.
Celebrate Small Risks
When your child tries something new or a bit scary, acknowledge their courage and curiosity.
Know Your Child's Limits
Every child has a different threshold for risk. Support their personal growth pace without comparison, especially between siblings.
Stay Calm and Present
Be nearby without hovering. Show trust in their ability to make decisions.
Talk About Safety Without Fear
Empower children with knowledge, not warnings. Instead of "Don't fall!" say "What do you need to hold on to?"
Create Safe Play Environments
Ensure play areas are free from hidden hazards while offering opportunities for challenging activities.
Supervise Appropriately
Observe children without intervening unnecessarily, allowing them to navigate risks and learn from experiences.
Encourage Exploration
Support children's curiosity by providing diverse materials and environments for play.
Educate About Risks
Discuss potential dangers and safety measures with children to enhance their risk assessment skills.
Subconscious Gender Bias
Old attitudes towards risky play are different for boys and girls. A little self-checking here will ensure these outdated attitudes (possibly from our own childhoods) don't subconsciously creep into our parenting.
As a parent it can be tough to watch, but risky play is a vital (and thrilling) component of healthy child development, offering physical, emotional, cognitive, and social benefits. By understanding and supporting risky play, parents and educators can help children grow into confident, resilient, and capable individuals.
