Positive risk taking in play

[Ruthierhyme]

Reading through some of the information on Playlink.org made me realise how many opportunities for play we may exclude & discount due to their level of risk .. this page ~ RISK & PLAY ~ and the rest of the website has some valuable points.. and anyone knowing their Early Years/Sure Start department well enough to request a possible work shop would I'm sure benefit the children greatly.
If you are lucky enough to attend one - let us know what happened or if you disagree with their policies please post and let us know why ....

Here I come with another strong opinion......

I think we should aloow childrne to take more risks!!!! I hate that children are so wrapped up in cotton wool!!! I hate the compensation nation we have become!!! If children dont fall they dont learn to be careful!! Im not saying we shouldnt protect them what im saying is the world in my opinion has gone mad!!! I think the key issue is being aware of what negligence is - we MUST let children be children! why shouldnt children be allowed to climb trees? why shouldnt children be allowed to go down a slide head first? why cant they do all the things we did when we were kids??? I hate to use the phrase but... it never did us any harm!!!! The fear of being seen to be negligent and therefore be sued gets in the way of us allowing children freedom to explore and make choices! as I said before.... youo wont learn to be careful if you never fal and hurt yourself!! Anj steps down from her :soapbox:

totaly agree with the lady on her soap box.lol
Poor children cant even go scrumping.Any one guilty of doing that? dont all stand up at once.lol

I dont mean to sound uneducated but.... whats scrumping?

[Ruthierhyme]

lol I think it's called oggying (or however it's spelt ) Ooop here.
Basically pinching apples from the trees whilst some poor soul gets the job of keeping look out for the owner... and No Patsy I have NO idea what it is really :muted:

:shocked: Im soooo shocked at you naughty girls!!!

Does it just apply to apples? lol I remember doing that with brambles once!! got myself in a right spot of bother i did!!

Reggio Emilia approach to child care encourages children to take risks. Their philosophy is, if you don't allow them to try in small steps they will never be able to take big strides.:bouncy:

So nice to hear this being talked about. Don't know about Emilia approach, etc, but I know as a mum I am well up for allowing my little girl taking risks! It's such an important part of learning. My mum cringes at some of the things I am so blaze about as she is a Class A worrier! I want her to learn from her own mistakes and not just have a lifetime of me saying 'NO!'

P.S. I hate the blame and compensation culture. It's ruined fun. :gnasher:

[FARLEYS]

Don't get me started on this one! How are we supposed to teach children to become independant if we never allow them to explore and push themselves further. If we never let them take risks they will never be able to go out into the big wide world and stand on their own two feet. They will always be looking to others to save them. With going down the slide head first, as long as you are there to teach them how to do it safely, whats the problem? yes we may have a few bumped heads but they will soon learn with confidence and NO COTTONWOOL that they can try new things. Climbing trees was a fantastic past time of mine when i was younger, yes i got hurt sometimes but i enjoyed it, (except when I got caught scrumping because my lookout had gone off to the loo but forgot to tell me!!). Without letting children take risks, obviously within reason, you wouldn't want a 4 year old thinking they could cross the road safely without an adult etc, children will never develop to their full potential, they will always hold back, be afraid of failure, always be looking for that hand for safety and comfort. We are there to protect children but we are also there to help develop them into independant grown ups, its about finding the right balance: keeping them safe from harm while allowing them to be children and learn to take risks safely! Sorry if I've waffled just trying to get my point across, feel much better now having got that off my chest!! FARLEYS