All children love to play, and play is a critical element of a child’s development. As of recent years, however, play is becoming more controlled by adults in an attempt to reduce the harm given to children. However in doing this, adults are minimizing the risk to play, which can actually have a detrimental effect on children’s development. 

So what is Risky Play? Risky play is giving children “freedom of movement” during play activities thus providing “experiences for mastering the world” (Kvalnes & Sandseter, 2023, p. 6). It is allowing children to test their physical, emotional and cognitive abilities and boundaries, which in turn evokes a sense of thrill, excitement, pride, fear and sometimes disappointment. Allowing children to control the risk in their play can lead to an improved ability to cope with adverse situations, increase their resilience and ability to ‘bounce back’ when experiencing failure. 

Of course, risky play looks different at every age, but interestingly, Kvalnes & Sandseter (2023) says that children as young as four can independently adjust the level of risk in their play to suit their needs. This is important to understand as we have to learn to trust children, and relinquish some of our own concerns to allow children to experience and learn from their play. It is natural for adults to want to protect children, and as educators it is one of our roles. Therefore it becomes a fine balancing act, distinguishing when it is time to step in. In play activities that pose some risk, we can actually support risky play in young children by coaching them through the activity. This looks like avoiding using the words “be careful” as this is meaningless to children, and just provokes fear which can prevent them from exploring this activity in future. Rather we can shift our language to helping children think about their body, for example, ‘Make sure you keep firm feet’, or ‘What do you think your next move should be?’. What phrases do you use to encourage risky play? We would love for you to share these with us by commenting below. 

For more information on risky play, you can access Risky Play: An Ethical Challenge via free download. 

EYLDF: Outcomes 2, 3 & 4