Children and Risk

Running With Scissors

    There is much talk these days about children and how one no longer sees them walking to school (or even walking), no longer playing outside (especially in wooded areas), and about the dangers they face in their bedrooms (which are monitored), lest they be crushed by a falling item from Ikea. The time not spent by parents in talking is spent by them in harnessing and helmeting the little rascals.

     I was pleased to read that the Brits have decided that the attempts to minimize risk for children have gone a little too far and suggest that risk should be returned to the childhood arena. Evidence for this change in attitude among the adults was perhaps first noticed with the Brexit vote, although it has long been known among the business-minded, who realized that higher risks often lead to greater returns.

Ideological Agreement

     The notion of bringing back risk, in these divisive times, may even be something to which we could all agree. It is suggested that “This view is tinged with nostalgia for an earlier Britain, in which children were tougher and more self-reliant. It resonates both with right-wing tabloids, which see it as a corrective to the cosseting of a liberal nanny state; and with progressives, drawn to a freer and more natural childhood. Britain is one of a number of countries where educators and regulators say a litigious, protective culture has gone too far, leaching healthy risks out of childhood.”

Even in Canada?

    Again, I was pleased to read that Canadians may be following along, if only to avoid the risk of missing out on the latest trend. The picture above is provided as evidence, although the pictures of the playgrounds in the U.K. showed examples of even greater peril - I just couldn’t grab them. And bringing back risk may be something even Canadians can agree upon since those of Indigenous stock, the coureur des bois, immigrants and all others living in a country that shares a border with the U.S. are certainly familiar with it. 

Sources:

    The quotation above is from, “Britain’s Playgrounds, ‘Bringing in Risk’ to Build Resilience,” by Ellen Barry, New York Times, March 10, 2018.

    The picture is from: “Putting Some Risk Back in Play:Delta Heeds Research That Says Not to 'Bubble Wrap' Kids,”  Sandor Gyarmati, Delta Optimist, March 11, 2016.

     “Should I Let My Child Walk to School Alone? Risks Come with Reward, Says Expert,” Glenda Luymes, Vancouver Sun, Sept. 1, 2017. The expert referred to is Dr. Mariana Brussoni, a B.C. Children’s Hospital and University of B.C. researcher who provides an excellent website: https://outsideplay.ca.

Post Script

   Before you decide to move to free-range parenting, remember that it was not too long ago or far away that one could be punished for providing a kid with a little autonomy.

“One recent Saturday afternoon, six police officers and five patrol cars came to my home in Silver Spring. They demanded identification from my husband and entered our home despite not having a warrant to do so. The reason for this show of force? We had allowed our children to walk home from a neighborhood park by themselves.” “When Letting Your Kids Out of Your Sight Becomes a Crime,” Danielle Meitiv, the Washington Post, Feb. 13, 2015.