difference can be useful to note when trying to find a bal- ance between the possible negative outcomes and the ben- efits of risky play. Risk can be thought of as situations where children recognize the challenge and decide on a course of action, such as climbing a tree. Hazards are either things that children may not recognize as potentially dangerous, such as play equipment with loose bolts; or situations where children may not have the capacity to manage the dangers, such as a strong current in a fast-moving river. While tak- ing an as safe as necessary approach, which embraces risky play, can be challenging, we provide examples in this article of existing tools and resources to help find balance and to support risky play in education and recreation environments.
Why is Risky Play Important? The positive benefits of risky play are far reaching, touch-
ing many aspects of children’s health and development. Brussoni et al. conducted a systematic review of the evi- dence regarding the health benefits of risky play. The review included 21 publications that examined play at height, where there’s a chance of getting lost, rough-and-tumble play, and risky play supportive environments. The evidence indicated that risky play was associated with less sedentary behavior, higher levels of physical activity, and more social behaviors. Furthermore, no negative health impacts were reported, including injury. It was also found that physical activity has positive effects on obesity levels, musculoskeletal health, cardiovascular health and bone density. There are also indi- cations that physical activity has positive benefits on men- tal health including self-concept, anxiety and depression, as well as school performance, concentration and memory. Thus, increasing physical activity generally has significant and far-reaching health implications for children and risky play is one way to increase children’s overall physical activ- ity and realize the health benefits. Page 4
Risky play can also be associated with increased time
spent playing with peers, increased interpersonal cognitive problem solving, increased motor skills, social behaviors, and conflict resolution. Generally, risky play allows children to challenge their own limits and learn skills by doing so.3 The success or failure of these challenges can provide moti- vation to try other activities or to try the same activity dif- ferent ways, with feelings of exhilaration when the challenge is met. Finally, learning how to manage risk in childhood may help develop risk management strategies for later life and increase children’s abilities to navigate substance use and sexual behaviors during adolescence. While there are potentially negative outcomes associated
with risky play, minor injuries are an expected side effect of play and physical activity. For example, play, especially in the outdoors, may involve running, jumping, swinging and climbing. A systematic review of physical activity in school aged children by Janssen & Leblanc4 showed that physically active children had higher rates of injuries then did inactive children, and that as physical activity levels increased, so too did the risk of injuries. Nauta et al.5 undertook a review looking at the number of injuries per 1,000 hours of physical activity by children. They found 0.15 to 0.17 medically treated injuries per 1,000 hours of leisure time physical activity, which was mainly playground time. Using this rate, Tremblay et al.6 calculated that to engage in the necessary number of hours to log one medically-treated injury, a child would have to play outside for three hours every day for approximately 10 years. Even this injury would likely be minor with only short-term impact. Finally, while tragedies can happen any- time, including during risky play, they are extremely rare.7 For example, in Canada in the period between 2000 and 2012 there was one death resulting from a fall from play equip- ment (and none resulting from climbing trees).8
GREEN TEACHER 109
Evergreen
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