Why is Risk and Challenge Disappearing from our Children's Play Environment? Couple that with the lack of adequate inspection, maintenance, and repairs and you have a formula for many of the injuries and costs associated with defending the parties named in the resulting lawsuits. They know that children need to be taught how to behave responsibly and independently and allow plenty for time for this teaching. Children learn from their personal and practical day to day experiences. Develop skills in negotiating the environment (including risks); Learn how to use equipment safely and for its designed purpose; Develop coordination and orientation skills; Learn about the consequences (positive/negative) of risk taking. Because there is a risk for serious complications in these children regarding feeding difficulties, there is often a . Establish clear rules for screen time. Play Safety Forum The Play Safety Forum, formed in 1993, exists to consider and promote the wellbeing of children and young people through ensuring a balance between safety, risk and challenge in respect of play and leisure provision. Why Wear Good Footwear When Playing On Playground Equipment? ALTHOUGH THE TERM 'RISK-TAKING' often has negative connotations, the reality is that the willingness to engage in some risky activities provides opportunities to learn new skills, try new behaviours and ultimately reach our potential. A Winnipeg woman is holding a solitary vigil instead of a birthday party today for her daughter, who died unexpectedly in hospital last summer, as she continues to wait to find out what killed the . be an indoor experience as well. These standards are ASTM F1292, F1487, and F1951. It is an independent body hosted by Play England. www.playday.org.uk. A play . Risk management. The essence of risky play is a child's attempt to manage perceived danger in an environment with the reward of excitement, achievement, and exhilaration. In settings like Southway Early Childhood Centre in Bedford, where children develop and demonstrate high levels of independence and responsibility and are encouraged to set their own challenges, everyone is clear about what is expected of them. In many families where family violence is an issue, part of the underlying risk is substance abuse. A risky play could range from walking and running to riding a bike, climbing and balancing. - having the overview keeping eyes and ears on the whole area and moving to areas where support is necessary. As an example, a child may evaluate the risk involved with playing on an overhead horizontal ladder connecting two raised platforms and may, or may not choose to take this route. Need Your Car Seat Professionally Fitted? When my youngest child was at nursery there was a weekly visit to the local beach or playpark. An ideal environment for developing and testing skills in safe, creative play environments. Assessing a play area should be an organic process, often reviewed by a team of providers and changed according to childrens needs, school vision, professional experience, etc. This one is certainly debatable, but I Regarding Risk Deficit Disorder, research has shown that risky play comprises a set of motivated behaviours which provide the child with a sense of thrill and challenge, and facilitate exposure to . Want milk!" the toddler screams and arches her back to squirm out of the seat. They can walk to the top of tall buildings. This approach however fails to acknowledge risk-taking as a positive feature of childrens play and learning (Tovey, 2011). - leading planned experiences working directly with a group of children. You can hammer pins or small nails into cork-boards, or small pieces of soft wood. In orientating on the notion of risk and how adults construct and perceive this we show that an individual and pedagogical sensitive approach towards children can increase outdoor challenge and . Despite this, there are indeed a multitude of benefits for your childs development if you provide them the space and encouragement to safely explore risk in play. Children can also build with construction materials inside. This involves regular (at least weekly) checking of equipment and resources with any damaged items removed for disposal or repair. Bikes, trolleys, balls, swings will develop childrens motor skills. Know your child's capacity for risk-taking and challenge and help him accordingly. Managing risk and challenge. Of the six categories of risky play that exist, I think that there are three that stand out as being excellent for indoor play. Play Day. CYP Core 3.4 Unit 4 Support Children and Young People's Health and Safety 1.1 Describe the factors to take into account when planning and safe indoor and outdoor environment and services. Rough and tumble play -Children can be wrestling and can take it too far. From this, they will come to learn the difference between safe environments and ones which involve risk. This unit provides the knowledge, understanding and skills required to support children and young people's play and leisure. Learning to walk is a natural risky learning moment that often comes with bruises, tumbles and falls. The role of risky play. After internships and projects in Portugal, Poland, and Cape Verde, he moved to Germany, where he worked as a teacher assistant in a Special Education School and later, as an Early Years teacher. Common sense is one of the most important qualities you need when providing play areas and activities that are healthy and safe for children and young people. In P. Broadhead, J. Howard & E. Wood (eds). Our childrens play environment should be a creative and stimulating learning laboratory; however, in many instances they have become over sanitized. Playground Safety Tips to Teach Your Child, Safety 101 : Five Common Hazards and What You Can Do About Them, How playground regulations and standards are messing up children's play. earliest play experiences. Welcome to Digital Education Resource Archive (DERA) - Digital . Are rocks and boulders safe to use in playspaces? Children enjoy creating dens that are so dark, that no light can get in. Gleave & Coster (2008) add that mental health professionals also argue that the lack of risk in play can lead to a lack of resilience and ultimately mental health issues, resulting in the need for professional intervention. A Qualitative Study of Risky Play Among Preschool Children. According to Sandseter (2010) a safety-obsessed society will result in children whom are less physically fit, have poor motor skills, and are less able to manage every day risks. Through these shared discussions parents come to see the point of and value all aspects of their childs development. Your email address will not be published. Disabled children have an equal if not greater need for opportunities to take risks, since they may be denied the freedom of choice enjoyed by their non-disabled . The most common cause of fatalities on playgrounds is entanglement of loose clothing, strings or ropes, and wearing bicycle helmets on the playground. These must be applied to the design and manufacture of public play equipment, its age appropriateness, equipment layout, signage requirements, installation, maintenance, inspection, and documentation. Playtime is essential and vital part of a child's life. The initiative is supported by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the UK Government. Tovey, H. (2011). P L AY N O T E S Be clear that risk is acceptable can go no nearer. The lack of risk and challenge in our childrens play environment has become a hot topic as more and more risky and challenging play events are removed or not even being considered for todays play environments. Unnecessary risk taking is not one of the leading factors resulting in most of these injuries. Beyond the risk society: Critical reflections on risk and human security. They climb trees, build forts, roam the neighbourhood with friends or play capture the . Sociology and risk. You can find my favorite 40 loose parts play activities by reading this. There is a danger that many adults, who are afraid that children might hurt themselves, simply remove objects and equipment rather than teach children how to use them safely. In order for children to keep themselves safe, they must develop the skill of risk assessment for themselves. learning how to negotiate natural hazards such as ice, tree -roots, rocks or slippery leaves, developing skill in negotiating the physical environments of home and early years setting, learning how to use tools and equipment safely and purposefully. Risky play is thrilling and exciting play where children test their boundaries and flirt with uncertainty. The classic way of eating food round a forest school fire circle is to find green sticks, as these are the ones that will not burn. As parents, particularly first time parents, it can be challenging to allow our children to enter risky or dangerous scenarios, for the fear of them getting hurt. This results in the elimination of most moving equipment, upper body equipment, and much of the more challenging play opportunities available in the marketplace. In light of this, risky play is best seen as something that presents a child with a challenge that through meeting they grow in motivation, creativity and self-confidence, all key features of learning and development. McCurdy, L., Winterbottom, K., Mehta, S. & Roberts, J. I am going to look at first quickly what risky play is, and then give lots of real-life examples of indoor risky play in action. We undertook qualitative interviews with eight schools to examine the acceptability of an intervention designed to increase risk and challenge in the school playground (e.g. Generally you are more limited in playing with speed indoors because of lack of space. What learning opportunities are you facilitating to your children/students in the outdoors? Hazard: is a danger in the environment that is beyond your child's understanding and can result in severe injury or endangerment. It is important to identify the source of the risk. These children need to be gently encouraged and supported to have a go with much genuine praise for their efforts. Encouraging safe exploration of risk and challenge in play will help you children develop skills in: Problem solving. A child who engages in risky play is . 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 . Next column I will look at some of the benefits of risky play being promoted today by the work of Chad Kennedy and others like him. Self-confidence. 2008, using the terms 'play', 'risk', 'challenge' and 'children'. Fantasy Play - A child can pretend to be an action hero by pretending that they can fly. You can find my favorite 40 loose parts play activities by reading this. Children who learn in their early years to make their own reasoned decisions rather than simply doing what they are told to by others will be in a stronger position to resist the pressures they will inevitably face as they reach their teenage years. Often boredom leads to misuse and other unacceptable behaviors. Materials For Loose Parts Play At Least 100 Ideas! By adding a climbing frame, a trampoline and trees to a play area, children will have the chance to play with great heights and, for instance, manage and understand their own limits or even develop resilience by persisting until succeeding to climb to a self-chosen height. Risk is an integral part of the experience of raising children. RISKY ENVIRONMENTS, - do the words conjure up interesting engaging spaces that are exciting to be in, or do they stir up feelings of apprehension within early years educators? July 19, 2016. Appropriate risky play comes with many benefits for learning and development. Using loose parts both inside and outside is a great source of open-ended learning, as well as sometimes containing an element of risk. For example they can stack blocks and crates, and attempt to make walkways over these using planks. Unacceptable risks and challenge in children and young people's play would include letting the children be exposed to things such as poisonous chemicals, faulty . Cars are faster, shopping centres are busier, the sun is hotter, food allergies are common and communities can be less familiar and connected than perhaps they once were. Therefore, it can be helpful to thinkof risk asbeing divided into two components: Some hazards may have value in that they can be an opportunity for learning. Childcare settings offer an ideal opportunity for children to become acquainted with risk-taking in play, which promotes healthy growth and development. Even well-supervised children manage to hurt themselves, often in unpredictable ways. (Lindon, 1999, p9), Additionally, if the environment becomes unstimulating children will inevitably become bored and behaviour will deteriorate. The two primary publications are the current 2010 Public Playground Safety Handbook by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the ASTM F1487-11 Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. They improve motor skills, promote body awareness and aid coordination. Jennie Lindon warns that: Adults who analyse every situation in terms of what could go wrong, risk creating anxiety in some children and recklessness in others. (Lindon, 1999 p10) Play Safety Forum (2002) Managing Risk in Play Provision. However, bad risks are risks that dont bring any substantial benefit for the child such as sharp edges, unstable heavy structures or traps for heads. Above all, settings that enable children most effectively to engage with risk and challenge genuinely believe that young children are competent learners and can respond to high expectations. In short, yes, all children should be provided with opportunities to engage in . Kidsafe NSW acknowledges the traditional custodians of the Country on which we live, learn, work and play. The case of risks and challenges in children's learning and development . Effective risk assessment and management requires: Distinguishing between acceptable and unacceptable risks including: The likelihood of coming to harm; The severity of that harm; and; The benefits, rewards or outcomes of the activity. Children both need and want to take risks in order to explore their limits, venture into new experiences and for their development. Implementing caution when children are playing can sometimes discourage them from exploring the limits of their bodies. When new equipment is considered or obtained, staff need to discuss how they might help children use it safely and plan staff time for this teaching to take place. If your child becomes too dependent on electronics for entertainment . London: Sage. They will learn the impact of their consequences and the value of seeking help when they are out of their depth. As children engage in play that challenges, scares and thrills them, they slowly overcome those phobias. They learn valuable lessons when they make good and bad decisions, but hopefully they are being closely watched by an adult who regulates and limits the scope of their play environment. Children are constantly trying out new things and learning a great deal in the process. Effective risk assessment and management requires practitioners to address the following issues: Distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable risks and remove any hazards. Can a Playground Be Too Safe? Another girl watched and then tried to copy. Playground Surfacing Requirements and Injury Reduction: How much of either is enough? This is how I remember my childhood. With risk and challenge comes some failure resulting most often in some form of minor injury, and this should not be looked at as a bad or unacceptable outcome. Children face real risk and danger every day of their lives. These injuries range from minor injuries with no long term residual effects to very seriously debilitating injuries and unfortunately even death. He believes in creating a unique balance between the development of 21st century competencies through Forest School, the development of curiosity and creativity through the Reggio Emilia approach, as well as the development of independence through Montessori inspired theory. According to the Oxford Dictionary, hazards are defined as; A situation involving exposure to danger.. Drills These are often used for drilling holes in small slices of wood. The definition of 'safe' is 'protected from or not exposed to danger or risk; not likely to be harmed or lost . continuous one, and does not just turn itself off when children go indoors. Risky play will look different depending on the age and developmental stage of a child. How Rubber is Changing Playground Equipment Technology. Careful planning and regular routine maintenance by a trained inspector can greatly reduce the possibility and probability that serious injuries will occur. For example, a baby takes a risk when . what forest school activities look like in reality, then you can check out this article that I wrote about it. It is challenging, and gets their full focus. Weekly walks to a forest nearby will promote freedom, independence, sense of orientation, self-confidence but also respect and understanding for Nature. dangerous elements such as fire. It is normally defined in six categories: Risky play that is managed well has a huge number of benefits for children. Using nature and outdoor activity to improve childrens health. They need to understand that the world can be a dangerous place and that care needs to be taken when negotiating their way round it. Playday:Give Us a Go. December 14, 2021. Sandseter affirms that when not all of types of risks are found in every play environment, the children will instinctively try to find another way of experiencing them, sometimes in unsupervised environments. Introducing risk taking into play communicates to children that risk can be our ally in life if we treat it with the respect and discernment it deserves. What should I include? All in all, you really can incorporate New playgrounds are safe and thats why nobody uses them. The key element of successfully learning new skills is to do so in a safe environment with encouragement from others. Appropriate and supervised play/activities with knifes, for example will develop the sense of trust and responsibility in them. These hazards are items or situations that can exist in this man-made environment that a child, generally speaking, is not expected to comprehend. You can find out what risky play looks like in reality by reading my in-depth article 25 examples of risky play. 7- Explain the concept of acceptable and unacceptable risk in the context of different play types. Knives You can use knives to whittle the bark of sticks. When things do not go to plan, children work out different ways of doing things in the future, which builds resilience. There will come a time in every childs life when its important for them to understand the limits of their bodies and when to socially and emotionally stop what they are doing, or to be able to say no. Whereas an unacceptable risk would be two children sword fighting as normally this gets out of hand and can turn serious. You use the hand-drills, never an electric version. Though children will often experience water in a water tray or similar, it is not the same level of risk and danger as a pond or stream. Playtime directly affects a child's well-being and development. what is to be done about identified hazards, if anything? In an increasingly digital world where children are spending less time outdoors, especially in a second wave lockdown, there is more opportunity than ever before to watch over our children and warn them off risky activities. "Need daddy," the toddler cries as she pushes Janice away. The study found that the need for risky play developed to remove these fears. Sandseter (2007) categorises risky play into six different types of risks that helps us understand what children gravitate to when playing: By adapting a play area according to these categories, the risks assessors will enhance the benefits of risky play. Crossing a busy street or riding a bicycle to school can put them in harms way. From an early age, we communicate with our little one about the world around them. Risk vs. Having concluded his Forest School Leader training in 2018, Cdric now spreads the positive impact and learning potential of Forest School and Outdoor Learning through Talks and Workshops. Too often practitioners simply stop children from representing in these ways particularly if a piece of equipment is being moved from one area to another. If we observe young children, we can see that, from an early age, they are motivated to take risks they want to learn to walk, climb, ride a tricycle and are not put off by the inevitable spills and tumbles they experience as they are developing coordination and control. Saws It is in many ways easier to use saws indoors than outdoors. I believe it is the collective failure of our play providers to meet the minimum industry standards for these areas. In the current climate, many practitioners interpret risk and challenge narrowly in the context of physical activity. Risk: is a challenge or uncertainty that a child can recognize in their environment and determine whether to engage with it or not. This is especially important through their teenage years. Those who have been denied this learning will not have the resources to cope with, and retain control of, their lives. In early years settings children find their own, often quite ingenious, physical challenges and, in doing so, learn about their own strengths and limitations. Swimming, biking, going up the slide, climbing trees, playing with pebbles or sticks are other types of risky play that most children naturally gravitate to, but are often asked to avoid. Lets start by recalling your favourite moments from school or even from your childhood Playing in your street with your neighbors, school break-time, fieldtrips, possibly your first camping experience, perhaps your family trips to the beach. Therefore, a previous risk assessment of the outdoor continuous provision or of a school playground is essential to understand which risks must be eliminated or minimised (bad risks) and which risks are worth taking (good risks). (2010). by Esther Evans | Feb 15, 2023 | Literacy, Wellbeing. Preschool memory games are very important for kids in a world of technology. In early years terms, we often celebrate . Play is essential for healthy child development and through play, children are naturally driven to take risks. Sat 2 Aug 2008 19.01 EDT. This is a kind of hacksaw with quite thin teeth. Anybody who cares about improving childrens play spaces could benefit from a little better understanding of the importance and effect RISK and CHALLENGE can make in their personal development. Everyday life always involves a degree of risk and children need to learn how to cope with this. She throws the cup to the floor, spilling juice everywhere. The case of risks and challenges in children's learning and development. Falls, whether to the underlying surface or onto another piece of equipment, continue to be the most common cause of injuries on public playgrounds. Achieving the balance: Challenge, risk and safety. experience is 'deliberately disabling and ethically unacceptable' (Hughes, 2001: 53). Currently there are no federal laws regulating playground safety other than the U.S. Department of Justice 2010 Standard for Accessible Design. Chad Kennedy, Landscape Architect, ASLA wrote in his newsletter, Inclusive Play Community Series: Risky Play, July 2012, that risky play is a universal need of children and we can observe risky play in all demographics of children regardless of where in the world they may be playing. space, and so playing chase and play fighting becomes a bit more dangerous. Play and playground news and information since 2001, Copyright 2001 - 2023 Playground Professionals, LLC. Supervision is very important when carrying out any activities like this. Todays young children are much less likely to play freely out of doors, to play with a wide age range, or to be exposed to, and learn about, risk. So, how do we support the action of positive risk taking in our children as they grow? It requires demonstration of competence in supporting play and leisure activities, helping children and young people to manage risk and challenge and reflecting on and improving own practice. developing control and coordination of their bodies. Hide and seek is the ultimate disappearing game, and that, arguably, is probably easier to play indoors than out. Because risk is a complex matter, related to an unknown future concerning all of one's objectives. In life, we learn through our experiences and as adults, there are so many things we learn later in life like: Lets face it, were never truly prepared for any big experiences until we are there, in the moment. She was unable to crawl on her hands and knees but found she could get across on hands and feet. (2010). This child is not expected to assess the spacing of the rungs for head entrapment related to the rung spacing or vertically protruding fasteners that could entangle their clothing. Children can walk up high staircases. Mastery play- Children building dens which can collapse. Read our blog Why do school grounds matter? to learn more about how this works in a school setting.If you would like to find out more about making changes to your outdoor space, or you would like to book a half/full day visit with me, Pauline, please dont hesitate to get in touch now on 01346 571533 or at pauline@urbangreendesign.org to get the ball rolling. Studies from central Africa describe common child-rearing practices with risk levels that would be unacceptable in the present Western context, such as eight-months-old infants . developing skill in negotiating the physical environments of home and early years setting. A few children enter early years settings with little awareness of risk. Thats not to say we need to put children in dangerous situations, its more about saying that children need to test their own boundaries and limits. Try to avoid treating each potential hazard with the same degree of seriousness. So if we take away all the risk in play, were taking away the opportunity for children to learn how to do things for themselves.. The two key elements here are fire and water. Of course, its our natural instinct to want to protect our children at all times. Hazard. which hazards might be acceptable or desirable because they create opportunities for children to gain access to potential benefits? This, indeed, makes both teaching and learning more challenging. Observing the children and identifying those who need greater challenge or specific support, Establishing and displaying expectations for behaviour, Actively encourage children to assess risks and possible consequences, Establish a systematic maintenance program, Development of self-confidence and well-being, Engagement with the natural environment and natural elements.