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Risky Play Is Good Play

Managing Risk in Play Provision - A Position Statement

Active for Life podcast: Dr. Mariana Brussoni on the value of risky play

Adventure Playgrounds - A Leap of Faith

Adventure - The Value of Risk in Children's Play

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I witnessed parents allowing their children this freedom, and at the time I thought it was crazy. I had gone rock climbing with a group of friends when a family came along to climb beside us. In this family, there was this tiny girl, no more than 3 or 4 and we were all laughing about how cute she looked in her harness and helmet. It wasn’t until about 15 minutes later when I looked over and was completely dumbfounded by what I saw. This girl, no bigger than 2 feet tall, was on a rock wall about 20 feet in the air, having climbed to where she was on her own! It was amazing to watch her as she made each move, all the while her dad was intently watching and holding on to her belay rope, but giving her no direction or instructions. This was something I never could have imagined a child doing, and yet here she was. We ended up chatting with the family and they talked about how this was something they do as a family all the time. I asked about injuries and that kind of thing, and they just said that a few scrapes never stopped anyone. At the time I was impressed but also scared for this kid, but looking back on it now I realize that the kid wasn’t in any actual real danger. This kid was developing skills at such a young age just because her parents allowed her to engage in risky play.

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Adventure play grounds are an amazing example of allowing risky play in a safe and beneficial environment and they are located in the UK as well as various locations across the US. Below is one located in California.

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Limiting risky play damages the developmental process in a child. It takes away a crucial way for them to learn and experience. Risky play creates so many new opportunities for growth and by taking those away a child can be severely limited. Without risk play becomes boring and lacks excitement and fun which are necessary elements.

Losing the exposure to risk has long lasting effects. There are many students in today's world who struggle when they aren't given specific directions and assignments, because they haven't properly mastered the skill of coping. This is dangerous and could lead to many problems. Life is full of risks, and learning how to deal with them at a young age is the best way to gain life-long coping skills.

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Promoting risky play can be accomplished by creating the right environment. This means:

Designing spaces where risks are visible and can be evaluated by those playing

Allowing enough time for play to occur

Play needs to be prioritized and should be a big part of a child’s life

Providing ample space to play, this can be done indoors and outdoors but exposure to nature is ideal

Loose parts are also an amazing tool for risky play, as seen in adventure playgrounds which have been extremely successful.

Vigilant care is also important for supporting risky play, and it is broken down into 3 stages:

1. Open attention: show an interest in what they're doing, be non-intrusive, this builds a sense of trust

2. Focused attention: if you see some warning signs of a risk, try a gentle check in, such as “hey how's it going” etc. An  improvement of the situation takes you back to stage one. Allow them to process, let them think, don't point out risks for them, say things such as,  “what do you think about that next branch?”

3. Active intervention: stepping in, avoiding controlling messages, give the child the power to assess the risk. This is to prevent the least amount of injury possible.

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Children need and want to take risks when they play, this is a fundamental aspect of play. It is important for play to be self motivated and intrinsic, and risky play is a part of that.

Risky play is a way to stimulate and challenge children when they are engaging with their environment and allow them to strengthen their abilities. Taking risks gives the opportunity to assess their own abilities and match them to the conditions of their environment.  For example, Are the branches strong enough so that I can climb higher? Can I jump from the swing into the sand pit?

This kind of play leads to cognitive development and the enhancement of executive functioning. It also serves as a way to get children into outdoor spaces and to really analyze their environment.

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fear has led to risk being minimized, but what that actually means is that children are being stopped from experiencing a healthy range of play opportunities. What needs to happen is the development of trust. Trust can help to alleviate the fears that prevent adults from engaging in risky play.

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minor injuries such as scrapes, cuts, and bruises are a natural part of risky play. In some cases even broken limbs are normal. These situations allow children to learn about the consequences of their actions as well it gives them a better understanding of the human body. Children need to know that they are not invincible. They also need to learn that they will heal from injuries.

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These three elements are necessary for determining the acceptability of risk and can be used in a risk assessment.

the likelihood of coming to harm

the severity of that harm

the benefits, rewards or outcomes of the activity

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Fear is the biggest barrier to risky play and understanding fear is the first step to breaking this barrier.

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Risk is not about what could potentially happen, it is about how a child handles their environment and evaluates every action they take regarding every situation. Children are excellent evaluators of risk, when given the chance to do so. Children as young as six months have been seen to proceed with caution when a new and potentially dangerous situation appears before them. They back up or gingerly feel their way forward. Already at this young age they know how to assess risk.

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Dangerous elements means allowing play to occur in settings with access to things such as water, fire, or event things such as cliffs.

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this is allowing children to utilize tools and equipment such as hammers and nails during their play.

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this form about play is about perception, for a younger child this could be a scenario such as hiding, while for an older child it could be being allowed to roam the neighborhood.

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rough and tumble play is physical play that allows children to be physical with one another such as play fighting and wrestling.

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Height play is any play that involves an element of height, such as climbing on structures or trees.

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Speed play is play that involve running or moving at a fast pace such as tag.

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Allowing risky plan is a crucial step in the ways that children develop, particularly in confidence and decision making skills. By assessing risks and navigating through play, children are able to understand for themselves the extent of their own abilities and how to improve those skills. Allowing kids the opportunity to go and do is so helpful for their mental health.

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From your point of you, you are making the environment safer, by issuing this warning you have helped the child and will prevent injury, but what about from the child's perspective?

Hearing these words can hurt. Now the child is thinking, am I not capable of doing this activity? Am I not good enough to make decisions? Do I need an adult around to help me make decisions?

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Imagine you see a child climbing in a tree. The kid moves from branch to branch slowly getting higher when suddenly you decide to blurt out, "be careful!". What does this statement mean?

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Noun: a situation involving exposure to danger

Verb: to expose (someone or something valued) to danger, harm, or loss

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In order for something to be a risk, a child must have the opportunity to see and assess the situation before deciding on how to proceed with their next action.

Hazards are dangerous things that a child cannot identify, make a judgement about, or see during their play. These are dangerous items such as broken glass, play equipment with broken or unstable design, or things such as loose nails sticking out. Because of the nature of these items, a child can not reasonably risk assess them, so it is up to adults to remove these before allowing a child to play in a particular space.

If a hazard exists in a play space that can’t be removed, then there needs to be measures in place to combat this. In areas such as adventure playgrounds, this is the job of the play workers. In these places the workers are required by law to make informed judgements about the hazards that children could be exposed to.