Kids need 'risky' playtime, study finds

by Rob Peters | August 4, 2008 at 10:50 am

1183 views | 10 Recommendations | 17 comments

A major study in England found that kids aren't being encouraged to take enough risks in their play time. They even go so far as to make some suggestions:

"The research lists examples of risky play that should be encouraged including fire-building, den-making, watersports, paintballing, boxing and climbing trees."

Boxing? Really?

While I think that encouraging uppercuts and hard jabs may be taking the principle too far, I do think that kids need to develop judgment from making the occasional dumb decision. Most of the life lessons I learned as a kid involved screwing up in some way.

My parents were perhaps a little too lax in this regard, however. I was allowed to play with firecrackers out my window, and my mom used to drive me around to put out garbage cans that my friends and I lit on fire. On the other hand, though, they were extremely nurturing and always made sure I ate my vegetables.

It is a scene that epitomises childhood: young siblings racing towards a heavy oak tree, hauling themselves on to the lower branches and scrambling up as high as they can get. Yet millions of children are being deprived of such pleasure because their parents are nervous about exposing them to any risks, new research has revealed.

A major study by Play England, part of the National Children's Bureau, found that half of all children have been stopped from climbing trees, 21 per cent have been banned from playing conkers and 17 per cent have been told they cannot take part in games of tag or chase. Some parents are going to such extreme lengths to protect their children from danger that they have even said no to hide-and-seek.

The tendency to wrap children in cotton wool has transformed how they experience childhood. According to the research, 70 per cent of adults had their biggest childhood adventures in outdoor spaces among trees, rivers and woods, compared with only 29 per cent of children today. The majority of young people questioned said that their biggest adventures took place in playgrounds.

Voce said Play England was determined to spread the message that children ought to be taking risks and that it is 'not the end of the world if a child has an accident'. The latest study will be launched on Wednesday to coincide with Play Day, when hundreds of events will take place across the country to celebrate children's right to play. It will show that play providers also feel the opportunities for children to 'test and challenge themselves in play involving a level of risk' have reduced over the past decade. They blame overcautious health and safety officers and the fear of litigation if children have accidents.

The Play England study quotes a number of play providers who highlight the benefits to children of taking risks. 'Risk-taking increases the resilience of children,' said one. 'It helps them make judgments,' said another. Some of those interviewed blamed the 'cotton wool' culture for the fact that today's children were playing it too safe, while others pointed to a lack of equipment or too much concrete in place of grass. The research also lists examples of risky play that should be encouraged including fire-building, den-making, watersports, paintballing, boxing and climbing trees.

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jessica.lam

at 11:00 on August 4th, 2008

Overprotective parents or educators who don't want to be sued? Everyone needs to relax.

crayon

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 14:55 on August 4th, 2008

Love this story!

Maybe these new trends point to the idea that more parents now are making a conscious effort to spend more time directly with their children than in the old days. Those images of children running around in the trees reminds me of a time when kids would come from huge families--and getting married and having children was something that everybody did, without questioning whether there would be time or money to spend on the nurturing of each individual child like people do today. So inevitably, there would be big packs of kids running around neighbourhoods while parents occupied themselves with daily necessities keeping house and bringing home the bacon. I'm not sure if children were necessarily happier then, either--those 'big adventures' could also mean a lot of unsupervised violence and cruelty that all children are capable of.

As more people opt to have less children--or just buy a dog instead--I think those who are having children are doing it out of conscious choice now and not because of a subscription to cultural family norms that aren't as strong anymore. The younger parents I know who have kids now feel quite emotionally invested in their child's well-being and they like to involve themselves in their children's activities, which might include less boxing and more hugging, less fire-building and more biking together on those tandem bikes that have a small attachment for kids. Of course this can have negative consequences too, as a number of universites have seen with the onslaught of what student recruitment offices dub 'millenial parents,' parents who can't seem to let go of being involved in their near-adult children's lives, to the extent that they'll phone up professors and hassle them for not giving their child a better grade on his sociology of the sexualities essay.

Bring back the den-making, I say. Those were good times.

JulieHoughton

at 15:30 on August 4th, 2008

I have just recently allowed my son, age 2, to play on his own without me hovering over him every second. I think it has allowed his imagination and social skills to blossom.

JulieHoughton has contributed a photo to this story.

RIPizzo

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 15:33 on August 4th, 2008

Rob Peters, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Thanks for the inviting my photo to be a part of your article!

Rebecca

Kathryn Skaggs (not verified)

at 16:02 on August 4th, 2008

Great article and I would be honored to have you display a few of my cherished photos along side this story.

Kathryn Skaggs

Write On!

John Peter SN

at 16:05 on August 4th, 2008

JJ poses in front of a playground merry-go-round. The children were really spinning quite fast.

John Peter SN has contributed a photo to this story.

caportraits

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 16:24 on August 4th, 2008

Rob Peters, I like this story. It's good stuff.

chutes2narrow

at 16:26 on August 4th, 2008

I am always encouraging my young siblings to play outside. With video games, tv, and the internet, it's usually the last thing they want to do. But I honestly believe that fresh air, sunshine, and good old fashioned dirt is essential not only for children but for adults. Appreciating the natural jungle gym we have is so important! Climb some trees, wrestle in the dirt, play with bugs...these are the least likely to cause serious injuries. Heavens, we should be more afraid of the food we're feeding our kids than them falling out of trees! What kid doesn't want a scar and a fluorescent cast!

chutes2narrow has contributed a photo to this story.

Ramayadi.Net

at 16:33 on August 4th, 2008

Hi There,

My photo was taken at Tenganan Village in Bali, it's one of virgin village in Bali. The children was playing 'Ayunan" while i took this photo.

Thank You

Andre Ramayadi

dearchivism yanson

at 16:39 on August 4th, 2008

Thirsty

dearchivism yanson has contributed a photo to this story.

amanda_dahlgren

at 18:21 on August 4th, 2008

amanda_dahlgren has contributed a photo to this story.

rumana husain

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 18:47 on August 4th, 2008

Rob Peters, I like this story. It's good stuff. i have uploaded my grand-daughter's recent photo. this one-year old just loves to play outdoors.

jennyfdowning

at 21:09 on August 4th, 2008

It is very obvious to me, as a teacher of 6 and 7 year-olds, which children have parents who encourage them to take risks in their play and those whose parents choose the 'easy' option of plonking them down 'safely' in front of Cartoon Network or a dvd.

On occasion, parents are invited to come in to observe my gymnastics classes; most are utterly amazed on seeing just what their children are capable of achieving. Such skills (climbing, balancing, jumping, turning upside down and so on) and safety 'rules' as they have learned in the relatively controlled environment of a school gym can of course be transferred to the great outdoors.

My photo 'fast' shows a little girl swerving to avoid being 'caught' by a friend in a game. The expression on her face captures the exhilaration she quite clearly felt during the chase.

SaraLeeAnn

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 06:21 on August 5th, 2008

Interesting and thought-provoking. Good Stuff!

visnapperheads

at 05:21 on August 8th, 2008

Thanks for using my photo as part of your story. Broedi, the girl in the photo, and her mom will be delighted I'm sure :)
visnapperheads has contributed a photo to this story.