Why do developmental psychologists argue that 'children need risky play, so parents should avoid overprotection'?
Parents who have children may think, 'I don't want my child to get injured by dangerous play,' and prohibit them from playing outside of safe parks or playgrounds, or only allow them to play where parents are supervising. However, Professor
Why Children Need Risk, Fear, and Excitement in Play
https://www.afterbabel.com/p/why-children-need-risk-fear-and-excitement
Brussoni, who has more than 20 years of experience researching child development, injury prevention, and risky outdoor play, points out that before the 1990s, it was common for children in Western countries to spend time with other children in their neighborhoods, local parks, or abandoned buildings, playing in ways that weren't allowed indoors.
The graph below compares the time British children spent on 'screen activities (red)', 'homework (light orange)', 'sports (dark orange)', 'social activities outside the home (dark green)', and 'outdoor play (light green)' in 1975, 2000, and 2015. Between 1975 and 2015, the amount of time spent playing outdoors decreased by 29.4%, and instead, time spent on screen activities, homework, sports, etc. increased.
'Ask young people (those born after 1990) about the games they played as children. Then ask their parents the same questions, and you'll see how generational shifts in play have unfolded,' Brussoni said. 'Parents will likely tell you stories of neighborhood adventures with friends, while children are more likely to talk about
There is a big difference in terms of thrills and risks between play supervised by adults and play that children invent freely. Children who are allowed to play freely will begin to engage in risky play, such as climbing taller trees, building secret bases using abandoned scrap materials and blocks, and racing bicycles. According to Brussoni, it is inevitable that children will take physical risks and begin to play in ways that are more exciting and satisfy their curiosity.
Children who engage in dangerous play exceed their limits and push themselves into unpredictable situations, resulting in both thrills and fear. Naturally, such play poses a higher risk of injury than sitting down to play games, and parents who try to protect their children tend to warn them, 'Don't play dangerously,' or 'Only play where you are supervising,' and try to keep them away from dangerous play.
But Brussoni argues that risky play may actually benefit children in the long run. Some theories suggest that risky play offers an evolutionary advantage, offering a low-cost opportunity to develop the physical and cognitive skills needed to overcome challenges . Others suggest that risky play helps children build critical-thinking skills and become more accustomed to dealing with difficult situations.
Furthermore, research has shown that risky play can help children overcome anxiety disorders and cognitive distortions, and that children who engage in risky play have a lower rate of internalizing problems characteristic of anxiety disorders. Based on these research results, a research team from the Canadian Paediatric Society called on parents in February 2024 to tolerate a certain amount of risky play.
Children develop through risky outdoor play, and the key is to provide appropriate adult support and strike a good balance between injury prevention and play.
The reason parents began to eliminate risky play in the first place was the boom in parenting in the 1980s, which encouraged parents to spend more time and effort on child rearing and micromanage their children's lives. This approach to parenting forced parents to engage in structured activities like sports and extracurricular activities, and even controlled the experiences their children had. As a result, risky outdoor play was deemed 'not educationally necessary and only increased the risk of injury,' and was therefore eliminated from children's lives.
However, Brussoni points out that such intensive parenting only brings marginal benefits. In fact, studies examining the effects of engaging in structured activities on children's development have not found any positive effects. In fact, it may even deprive children of the benefits they receive from risky play, potentially having a negative impact on the development of some skills.
Brussoni points out that children today live in a safer world than ever before, with deaths from unintentional injuries falling by 73% for boys and 85% for girls between 1973 and 2010. 'We parents are caught in a paradox: We desperately want our children to be safe and successful, and we do everything we can to prevent injury and failure. Yet, many of our efforts to manage fear paradoxically decrease our children's chances of safety and success,' Brussoni said.
Brussoni argues that children need time to play as they please, and that the biggest obstacle to this is parents trying to keep their children away from danger. He argues that three elements - time, space, and freedom - are important to support children's physical and mental health, cognitive development, and emotional abilities.
◆1: Time
If children's schedules are filled with sports and extracurricular activities, they are unable to play freely. Therefore, parents can ensure that children have time to play freely by building 'time when they can play as they like' into their children's schedules, or by schools allowing children to play outdoors during recess.
◆2: Space
Children need access to flexible, stimulating spaces where they can use their imagination and explore risks, rather than spaces where the rules and methods of play are strictly defined. While such parks and unmanaged spaces are becoming less common in modern society, there is a growing movement in some areas to ensure spaces where children can play freely, such as in New York, where a non-profit playground called Play:groundNYC has been opened.
◆3: Freedom
Ultimately, whether a child can engage in risky play depends on how much freedom parents give their children. It's hard for parents to overcome the fear that their child might get hurt, but Brussoni argued that parents and neighbors can build closer relationships and cooperate with each other, giving them the confidence to send their children out to play.
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