Risk Taking
I plan my blogs a week in advance. I mostly know what direction I’m going in. Today my plan was to blog on young children taking risks and what the benefits are.
Yesterday I took these pictures.
This is one of the kids favorite places to test their physical ability and take risks. You can imagine all the engineering talk that goes in during building. I am there assisting. Should the board be flat ? Ohhhh when you step on that square board it wobbles – why ? Is that board long enough ? How much should hang over the edges to make it stable ? Is it safe for two people to walk across the boards at the same time?
The benefits of risky play are high.
Children who engage in risky play develop skills to handle the feelings of nervousness and fear that can come with trying new things. This knowledge gives them the skills they need to adapt to new situations and explore new environments—skills that become even more important when they go to school. ( bridgeway centre )
Read that again.
Other benefits are :
- Gain gross motor skills.
- Use motor planning and sequencing skills to execute complex movements.
- Think about consequences as part of risk assessment.
- Improves visuospatial skills.
- Often involves cooperation with peers.
- Provides opportunities to experience emotions such as exhilaration, joy, excitement, fear, apprehension and pride.
- Increases confidence in their own capabilities and fosters a growth mindset. ( Sue McLaren)
Sometimes risky play involves an accident or even injury. Today one of our little guys jumped off the board and landed on his chin causing him to bite the inside of his lip pretty good. We took care of it and texted mom.
Here’s the thing – I will let him do it again tomorrow. Situations like this build resilience and goodness knows we need a lot of that. Do I hate he got hurt ? Yes. Do I pray it doesn’t happen again ? Yes. Do I know he learned a lot today from this incident. Oh yeah !
Almost all licensed programs have been stripped of large playground equipment. We have put children in bubbles and then wonder who will be our leaders in the coming years. I want children who know how to assess a risk. I want children who bounce back. I want children that know what it’s like to fall and get up again.
I almost didn’t post this today because of our friends incident but thought why not 🤷🏻♀️ while I’m in the heat of the thought process.
We learned more today than we ever could on a worksheet. Worksheets require zero risks. Worksheets build no resilence.