3 Reasons Your Child Needs More Risky Play
What is Risky Play?
When kids experiment and push themselves in new environments, they are participating in ‘risky play’. Without knowing what will happen, they explore and figure out what will happen. They feel excited, thrilled and challenged!
Risky play has been a hot topic in the news recently as we discovered that tobogganing is banned in many City of Toronto parks. Did you also know that climbing trees is not permitted in City of Toronto parks?
Unstructured, outdoor play is key for childhood development, especially as we see growing numbers of obesity, anxiety and behavioral issues in our children.
1. Risky Play helps children discover their own abilities, limits and comfort levels!
We are encouraging children to get up and move! They are learning to assess their strength and building physical literacy. Their bodies will remember these repetitive movements and the joy that came with them - building a lifelong love of physical activity.
2. Risky Play builds immunity!
Did you know that digging in the earth, moving around barrels, logs and other loose parts is in fact good for your overall health!? It diversifies your skin and gut bacteria which is a good thing.
3. Risky Play builds self-confidence, resilience & thinking skills!
Rough and tumble play builds resilience, conflict management skills and better problem solving in kids. In a recent study, students in Grade 4 were provided with risky play opportunities for 3 months. The teachers then reported improved resilience, self-esteem and concentration in the classroom!
Parents Balance Risks & Hazards
Obviously, we are not going to allow our children to play near a busy roadway or along a rushing river. As parents we can use our developed cognitive skills to assess the risk and supervise the child based on their age and development.
At Larchwood Nature OT we believe in the value of unstructured, free play in nature. This is a key ingredient to all of our programs. We allow the children to lead, be curious and try new things. We have changed our language from “be careful” to:
“Take your time”
“I’m here if you need me”
“Do you feel stable/safe?”
“I like how focused you are!”
The 2022 Participaction Report Card gave Canadian children a grade of D overall for physical activity and a D– for active play. We need to do better! At Larchwood Nature OT we fully support risky play and families are seeing the positive changes in their children. We balance risky play with treatment in all of our outdoor sessions.
If your child has a sense of curiosity and enjoys the outdoors then check out some of our unique programs.
Supervised Risky Play Options at Larchwood Nature OT
Weekend Nature OT Group - 8 week Winter session begins March 2, 2024
Nature Play Group - Feb 17, 2024, drop by, stay for the hour, OT led, $19/child
Larchwood Farm Summer Camp - Therapeutic camp for kids 4-12 years of age!
