Can Young Children Assess Risk and Engage in Free Exploration and Outdoor Play?
Outdoor play: engagement in activity that is fun and/or rewarding, driven by intrinsic motivation and takes place outdoors. (1)
Risky/adventure play: a form of play that is thrilling and exciting, which involves uncertainty, unpredictability, and varying degrees of risk-taking. (1)
Outdoor risky play is associated with numerous benefits for health and development among children. (2-5) Despite this, outdoor risky play has declined over the last half century for a variety of reasons – a few of which are ever-increasing standards and regulations for children’s play environments, the possibility/risk of injury and safety concerns.
A new study investigated how toddlers (aged 17-25 months) assess and manage risk in free exploration and engage in risky play in a natural environment. (6) Using head-mounted GoPro cameras, findings indicated that while toddlers find risk in play and exploration intriguing, they are able to (a) regularly assess and manage risks in challenging natural environments, (b) develop their own risk management skills and assess risks directly and indirectly, and (c) understand and respect the challenges of the environment to avoid reckless situations with a high-risk of injury.
Children employed various strategies including using their own direct risk assessment (e.g., managing a risk themselves through their own actions and exploration – slowing down their pace, carefully observing their surroundings and obstacles) and indirect risk assessment (e.g., observing peers’ risk taking to learn how to assess and handle risks).
Take-Aways
Given the health, learning, and development benefits associated with active, risky, and outdoor play, children of all ages should be given plenty of encouragement and opportunity to be active and play outdoors in natural settings.
Despite worries surrounding risk of injury, these results support the notion that not only can children navigate and explore challenging natural environments, but outdoor risky play may provide them the opportunity to improve their risk assessment/management skills, handle varying situations, and avoid injuries.
Even children as young as 17-25 months (toddlers) are able to explore risks and use strategies to assess and manage risks. Early childhood education and care staff, teachers, administrators, parents and caregivers are all encouraged to give children the opportunity to engage in independent, unstructured, and risky active play outdoors.
Reference:
1. Lee, EY., de Lannoy, L., Li, L. et al. (2022). Play, Learn, and Teach Outdoors—Network (PLaTO-Net): terminology, taxonomy, and ontology. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 19, 66.
Tremblay, M. S., Gray, C., Babcock, S., Barnes, J., Costas Bradstreet, C., Carr, D., ... & Brussoni, M. (2015). Position statement on active outdoor play. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(6), 6475-6505.
Larouche, R., Garriguet, D., Gunnel, K. E., Goldfield, G. S., & Tremblay, M. S. (2016). Outdoor time, physical activity, sedentary time, and health indicators at ages 7 to 14: 2012/2013 Canadian Health Measures Survey. Health Reports, 27(9), 3-13.
Gray, C., Gibbons, R., Larouche, R., Sandseter, E. B. H., Bienenstock, A., Brussoni, M., ... & Tremblay, M. S. (2015). What is the relationship between outdoor time and physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and physical fitness in children? A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(6), 6455-6474.
Brussoni, M., Gibbons, R., Gray, C., Ishikawa, T., Sandseter, E. B. H., Bienenstock, A., ... & Tremblay, M. S. (2015). What is the relationship between risky outdoor play and health in children? A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(6), 6423-6454.
Tangen, S., Olsen, A., & Sandseter, E. B. H. (2022). A GoPro look on how children aged 17-25 months assess and manage risk during free exploration in a varied natural environment. Education Sciences, 12(5), 361.