Why should children be allowed to take risks?
How do we feel when we see a child up a tree out of our safe keeping? Will they fall? Will
they get hurt? This looks risky. Do we say “Get down, you will fall!” Or do we react with
“What fun. You are really brave. Well done!”
Children like taking risks - how many of us remember with affection when as children we
loved hanging upside down from a climbing frame, or making the swing go that little bit higher
or roundabout faster. Adventurous play is great for experiencing the thrill of trying something
a little bit outside our comfort zone. Children enjoy pushing their own limits and testing out
what they can do or what they can nearly do. Great joy can be derived when risk itself is the
central feature of their play. Babies enjoy being thrown in the air, bounced vigorously or
tipped backwards. Older children love balancing on a wobbly bridge or swinging on a rope.
As adults many of us get great enjoyment from activities such as skiing or sledging which
give similar exhilaration.
Developing bravery is a skill children need to develop to be able to spend a morning at
nursery without a parent, camp overnight with the cubs or brownies, or learn a new skill.
But what about other kinds of risk, emotional risk taking. Adventurous and daring play can
also be seen in imagined play worlds where children deliberately enjoy scaring themselves
through monster play or escaping the big bad wolf. In this kind of play children venture into
new unexplored territory where they can safely explore themes of good and evil, fear and joy.
Children need to learn to take emotional risks; join in a game with new friends, start at a new
school, developing useful life skills. How brave do we need to be to have a go at writing when
we are just four, spell a new word, stand up and speak in assembly or perform a solo on the
piano? If we want children to be brave risk takers in life in whatever form that takes we need
to give them the opportunity to take risks in their play.
This may mean as parents, carers and teachers we also need to learn to take risks and let
our children take risks; learning to deal with our feelings of fear when our child climbs a tree
for the first time or runs ahead in the woods. How many children are told "don't do that you
might hurt yourself, don't ride so fast you might fall off, let me do that for you". Children who
are overprotected might get the message that they can't attempt new challenges without an
adult, that the world is a scary and dangerous place and expressing these feelings of fear will
earn you lots of attention. As adults we need to acknowledge children's feelings "I can see
that this looks hard, difficult, scary but I am here if you need me and trust the child to have a
go. Children rarely climb higher than they can get down from, they rarely hurt themselves
cutting fruit if taught how to use a knife properly. We need to give children the tools they
need and show them how to use them and let them grow in confidence.
Let them experience "scary" or try something on their own, go on a school trip to somewhere
new and see how they grow. Helen Tovey, Principal lecturer in Early Childhood Studies at
the University of Roehampton, London wrote recently “Over-emphasis on safety creates the
biggest risk of all – that of creating a generation of children who may become either reckless
in their pursuit of thrills and excitement, or risk-averse, lacking the confident and skill to be
safe and also lacking the disposition to be adventurous, creative and innovative in their
thinking”.
Friedrich Froebel, one of the most influential thinkers on early childhood education
recognised the importance of children’s adventurous play outdoors. He emphasised the
importance of first-hand experience and the integrated way in which children learn. These
principles can be seen in this extract from his writings which describe an imagined
conversation about the possible danger of a child climbing a tree.
“To climb a new tree is… to discover a new world. If we could remember our joy when in
childhood we looked out beyond the cramping limits of our immediate surrounds we should
not be so insensitive as to call out “come down, you will fall”
“The boy whose training has always been connected with the gradual development of his
capacities will attempt only a little more than he has already been able to do and will come
safely through all these dangers.”
"I did it all by myself" is the proudest statement a child can make about their work at school.
If we want children to grow up to be confident, creative risk takers in life we must give them
the tools and opportunities to experiment with as young children within the safety of a caring
home or school community. A school which fosters challenge, independent thought and
opens children's eyes to the world of possibility will develop in children the excitement of
learning and willingness to have a go and take the risks they need to succeed in a
competitive world.
Debby Hunter, Principal, Annan The Froebel School