A breath Of Fresh Air
Diving Into Nature
By: Natasha Dixon
What is Risky Play? "Risky play can be defined as a thrilling and exciting activity that involves a risk of physical injury, and play that provides opportunities for challenge, testing limits, exploring boundaries and learning about injury risk" (Little & Wyver, 2008) Furthermore, according to Gray (2014), there are six different types of risky play including great heights, rapid speeds, dangerous tools, dangerous elements, rough and tumble play and disappearing/getting lost. Each individual has a different definition of what risky play is based on their personal comfort level, ability, and experiences. The Importance of Risky Play Children and adults learn so many valuable life skills while participating in risky play. Children learn about assessing risks, safety awareness and observing the environment around them. They also learn resilience, balance, coordination, resourcefulness, independence and problem solving. The skills that children learn are endless! Giving children the opportunity to experience risky play gave truly help children build their confidence as they are able to do things on their own. They are able to decide what they want to do, how they are going to do it, and how to solve a problem if it comes up. They learn to think quickly in a variety of situations. The more children are exposed to the more they learn which further highlights the need for risky play in our every day lives. My Experience with Risky Play Earlier this month as part of a take it outside challenge I climbed a large tree and stood on one of the branches and took a minute to look around and enjoy the view. It was truly exhilarating using all of my strength and energy to try to get up that tree considering the first branch was pretty high off the ground. I felt accomplished and proud that I was able to get up there. My mom was taking the pictures and her and I were both laughing having a great time during this experience. I was able to build my strength, gross motor skills and confidence during this risky experience. In the summer my friends and I decided to go white water rafting, something the most of us hadn't done before. I was excited and terrified all at the same time. Once we started paddling and going over the first rapid I started to really have fun and realize it isn't so scary after all. This further proves the importance of risky play. Once you learn and experience risk taking individuals often become more comfortable and willing to take more risks. I was able to build my coordination as I was paddling and focusing on the rapids ahead. For those of you who may not know I am scared of heights. Heights make me nervous, so this summer I made it my mission to try to overcome this fear. I decided to go cliff jumping at a cottage and zip lining in Montreal. These were both very risky things for me to do. I used my courage and confidence to overcome the fear. I had it in my mind that I was going to do it and I did. It was so exciting and made me more comfortable with the risks involved. I learned the perseverance is key. In the past I would usually take a lot of time to decide if I wanted to jump off the cliff and would look down at the water and think more about jumping. This time I got to the top and just jumped! I was confident and excited for this experience. My Personal Thoughts
As an RECE, I understand and value the importance of risky play. I do have a confession to make though, it can make me nervous! This is something I am working on because I understand how much children benefit from risky play. I still sometimes get nervous when young children start to climb up very high on the play structure with no protective barrier, or when children go to jump off high platforms. I think part of this is just me worrying about parents reactions to what children are doing. As an educator I feel like there is a sense of responsibility to what parents will think and how they will react to what their children are doing. I have been focusing on educating parents about risky play and reassuring them that it is okay. I am becoming more confident explaining to parents the benefits of risky play and all the skills the children are learning. The more the parents see their children participate in risky play the more comfortable they seem to get with it. Over the past few months I have been taking a step back and really evaluating what is safe. Similarly to the parents the more I encourage and am exposed to risky play the more I seem to encourage it. It is like a ripple effect of fun, freedom, and possibilities. The question is where will the next risky experience take us? The possibilities are endless! Related Resources: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/freedom-learn/201404/risky-play-why-children-love-it-and-need-it This website highlights the various aspects of risky play including but not limited to great heights and rapid speed. It breaks down different ages and examples of risky play which can be beneficial for parents and educators to read and understand. wehavekids.com/parenting/The-Importance-of-Risky-Play-in-Early-Childhood This article talks about hovering as an adult and the importance of letting children take risks. It talks about it from the parents perspective which can be useful for parents to better understand the key points. earlyyearsoutdooreducation.wordpress.com/outdoor-risky-play-for-all/ Risky play from the perspective of an early childhood educator and information on the declining opportunities of risky play.
5 Comments
Izabel Esnard
10/27/2018 07:36:10 pm
It’s great to see how you continue to push yourself in risky play as an adult. Often we are scared to experience that thrill but knowing what it is all about has helped me support safe risky play in my practice with children. By allowing ourselves and children to experience the thrill, they learn their limits and gain physical skills including building strength and coordination.
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Talia Shearman
10/29/2018 06:30:53 pm
Wow, What a great post! It was very well written, easy to read and it was very informative. I inspire to be like you as an adult and to do more risky opportunities!
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Lina O'Connor
11/2/2018 11:32:19 am
Hi Natasha! I really like your blog posts, as well as the personal connections embedded throughout. Like others have mentioned- I enjoyed reading your blog about risky play. We all know that risky play is a current topic that is being discussed a lot. I like your own experience with risky play and your personal thoughts. Being able to self-reflect is really important especially as educators. It also helps in understanding your self and your own comforts level and how to learn more. Which ultimately benefits all children. Thanks for the great read!
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Grace
11/3/2018 09:46:30 am
Wow, great experience! I was one of the children who did not get chance to do risky play when i was little. I spent most of my childhood on piano ;-( . I like your thoughts about risky play, and hope I can step out of my comfort zone for more risky opportunities.
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Taylor Barkley
11/3/2018 06:20:03 pm
Natasha, I think it was very important that you stated that risky play can be different for everyone. As educators we need to not generalize this statement and treat it like children's learning; they are all different. As educators we need to provide many opportunities for children to engage in risky play to give them options to meet their individual needs and to engage in risky play that interest them. I am terrified of heights, I am glad you were able to overcome this fear. I think over time and practice it can become less scary.I liked how brutally honest you were in your personal thoughts it is defiantly relatable. I as well still get nervous when children climb up high. Then I take a minute to remember all the benefits it has on their learning. I like how you are advocating for risky play by explaining the benefits to parents and modelling risky play!
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Natasha DixonThis blog is dedicated to diving into nature in every way, shape and form. I want to truly enjoy my time in Nature and further explore different aspects of nature. |