Course:KIN355/2020 Projects/Risky Play

Defining the Concept and Its Importance

Risky play is a form of physical play that is exciting, thrilling, and includes a risk of  physical injury (Brussoni et al., 2012). This form of play can involve a numerous amount of activities and can be broken down into six categories: 1) great heights 2) high speed 3) harmful tools 4) dangerous elements 5) rough-and-tumble play 6) element of disappearing and becoming lost (Sandseter, 2007).

The term ‘risk’ is often interpreted with negative connotations, however risk can also be viewed as an opportunity, a viewpoint taken within the discourse surrounding risky play promotion. Perceptions of risk are subjective which may leave some to wonder why children engage in potentially ‘risky’ behaviour in the first place. Foremost, children take part in play as it gives rise to pleasant experiences and emotions. (Sutton-Smith, 1997). The reason children engage in risky play relates to experiencing the excitement and thrill of engaging in a risky and potentially dangerous activity (Apter, 2007). It is important to note as well that much of child’s play is related to fear and that children seek out fearful activities themselves to participate in, such as swinging and jumping from heights (Aldis, 1975).

There are many benefits to risky play that make it advantageous to implement into activity for all youth. One concern that parents and educators have pertains to child safety, which is especially relevant in risky play. However, participation in risky play actually provides affordances for children to gain capabilities that can help maintain their safety and minimize risk. Risky play has been found to provide opportunities for children such as decision making, creating a schema for their limits and capabilities, developing risk-management skills, and learning to decrease risk of injury (Little & Eager, 2010; Little & Wyver, 2008). In these ways, children are able to develop risk assessment and mitigation skills that can be applied in the future to play and also everyday circumstances and situations.

Risky play is also important due to its influence on youth physical activity. Risky play can occur in various environments, but this form of play is primarily seen to take place outdoors, specifically in children’s free, adventurous physical activities. (Stephenson, 2003; Sandseter, 2007). This form of play is important as outdoor play is positively related to physical activity and negatively related to sedentary behaviour (Gray et al., 2015). Outdoor play allows children to not only move more and sit less, but also play for longer durations of time (Outdoor Play Canada, 2018). Risky play as an avenue to promote physical activity engagement in youth is important due to the numerous benefits such as reducing adiposity and boosting cardiovascular, bone, and metabolic health (Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, 2008). Additionally, risky play as a tool to engage youth in physical activity is especially pertinent when considering, according to Statistics Canada (2019), only about 40 percent of children and adolescents ages five to seventeen are meeting their recommended physical activity targets for their age group.

Role in Childhood Development and Contemporary Considerations

Risky play provides a various amount of affordances that assist with healthy child development and movement proficiencies. When engaging in risky play, children are able to explore their surrounding environment and develop an understanding of possibilities and constraints of both themselves and the environment (Sandseter & Kennair, 2011).

One exemplar is considering one of risky play’s categorizations: harmful tools. Interacting with harmful tools creates an opportunity to learn the properties of objects and their function (Bjorklund & Pellegri, 2002). Access to manipulate and play different objects within the environment allows for children to work on motor skills (both fine and gross) and obtain new sensory information. Pellegrini and Bjorklund (2004) note how the duration of time children play with objects is indicative of the importance of these core competencies for childhood and throughout the lifespan.

Engaging in risky play also provides an opportunity to practice various locomotor skills and work on motor competencies. Various studies show risky play promotes and is dominated by locomotor activities such as chasing, climbing, jumping, sliding, and swinging (Smith, 1982). In this way risky play allows children to engage in physical activity and also to help practice and master different developmental milestones through engaging with the environment.

Risky play also affords psychological development benefits in youth. Studies have shown how engaging in risky play facilitates emotion regulation in regards to fear; risky play affords the opportunity to practice coping with feelings of fear and learning to find balance between emotions of fear and joy while playing (Sandseter & Kennair, 2011). Additionally, risky play also promotes child development cognitively through its natural promotion and stimulation of creative and innovative thinking that occurs during play (Bundy, 2009).

Risky play also provides opportunities for children to develop their perceptual competencies. In particular, activities involving high speeds can enhance perception of depth, movement, size, and shape perceptions (Rakison, 2005). Perceptual competencies, such depth- form-, shape-, size-, and movement-perceptions, are also a natural result of children exploring their environment and is seen when children engage in activities that involve the risk of getting lost and disappearing (Rakison, 2005). Acquiring spatial-orientation knowledge is also a by-product of engaging in risky play for children, which is pertinent to child development (Bjorklund & Pellegrini, 2000).

Another important contribution of risky play to child development is its provision of environment to explore developmental phobias and minimizing inhibitions (Sandseter & Kennair, 2011). This exploration is carried out both through repetition of experiences and self-paced increases of activity intensity.  In this way risky play allows children at their own pace to address and work on inhibitors to their own development by potentially addressing rate limiters and practicing movements.

A major contemporary issue is engagement and participation in risky play due to perceived risks (Bundy, 2007). Concerns pertaining to child safety and injury prevention has led to some parents and policymakers hesitant to embrace risky play as an acceptable form of play for children to participate in. Concerns and worries over child safety (in some cases concerns over lawsuits) has in some instances led to “out-of-control risk assessment” on behalf of children (Bundy, 2009, p. 35). The downside of removing potential harm from play situations is that it simultaneously removes the benefits and affordances provided by challenging, risky play (Bundy, 2009). Revoking access to risky play for children removes stimulating opportunities and can potentially hinder child development (Brussoni et al., 2012).

For both the developmental benefits of risky play and the negative implications of removing risk opportunities, engagement in risky play should be encouraged by both educators and parents as a beneficial activity for children.

Practical Applications

Game Title: Pirate tag

Purpose statement: Through the height aspect of risky play, children are able to jump on different levels of boxes with different spacing between each box while playing the game of tag. There are risks of getting hurt through falling off the boxes at heights with distance apart. However, this game is a great way for children to assess their abilities in jumping between boxes of the same height or different height and how far they can jump depending on the distances between the boxes. It can train their abilities of risk assessment so they operate within their capabilities and avoid risks of injury themselves once they know their limitations. By allowing them to play under a supervised and more controlled environment, they can more safely take risks and know what they are or aren’t capable of at the given time.

Target age: 3-10 years old, but it is advised that children of ages 3 to 4 at most play with children 5 to 6 years old, given their physical maturity differences. Children 5-6 should be able to play with 10-year-old children with less of a difference in abilities.

Diagram illustrating equipment setup for "Pirate Tag"

Apparatus/equipment needed and environmental space/set-up:

• Play space: the game can take place in any open area with enough space for children to run in. It could take place at the entire playground or just a part of it, in the gym, or the classroom (if there is enough space).
• Equipment: soft big boxes, small boxes, or anything else with a soft flat surface can be used, and they should be placed around the area with considerable spacing between each equipment.
• the distance between each equipment should not be too far away for children to jump between, but not too close where there is little challenge or risk.
• Safety equipment: It’s best if there is a mat or floor tiles to be put together and placed under all the equipment as an extra safety precaution if children do fall off.

Instructions

• Everyone can only stay on the equipment, including the tagger. If anyone falls off and touches the ground, they have to 1) go to the side and do 10 jumping jacks (if you want the game to last longer) or 2) be out of the game

• One person will be the tagger and is responsible for tagging as many people as possible
• Other people are responsible for running away and trying to not get tagged. The game ends when everyone gets tagged.
• If the game goes on for too long, the teacher can also set a time limit for when the game ends or use the rule where you are out of the game if you are tagged

Modifications

• Environment: settings with more objects (i.e. playground equipment) can allow children to experience greater height differences (i.e. running up the stairs to the higher part of the equipment then sliding down from the short slide. But of course the teacher has to set limitations for which part of the equipment children can use for the game. Equipment that is too high should not be allowed when playing tag because of the much higher risks involved with falling.
• For example, slides that are too high should not be allowed in case the game gets too intense and children fall off from it. Monkey bars could be used for kids who are 5 to 10 years of age if they are comfortable with it. But rules like “you can’t tag anyone when you’re climbing the monkey bars, but you can climb to the other side to try to tag someone” should be given.
• The age group for this modification will be for older kids, between 5 to 10 years old. But they could also be more willing to take more dangerous risks, so the places they can jump from or not jump from should be clearly stated by the teacher when more equipment is involved.
• Rule: An alternative rule is that people who get tagged become a tagger too, so the number of taggers will increase over time to increase intensity. However, this could increase the risk of falling when they try to avoid multiple taggers, so make sure they understand to always stay safe.
• With rules that have a less serious consequence, like if you are tagged you can go to the side and do 10 jumping jacks, it could potentially reduce the risk of children taking unnecessary risks that could hurt them just to avoid getting tagged.

Game Title: Bob the Builder

Purpose statement: Through the manipulation of harmful tools to create their own characters, children can learn the functions of different objects and also work on fine and gross motor skills. Children will learn why these tools could be harmful and how to use these potentially harmful tools safely within their capabilities. They learn how these tools can help shape their environment and what the safe uses of these tools look like. They also learn to regulate their emotions and find a balance between fear and joy in the process of playing. They may also gain perceptual competencies with practicing manipulation of these tools so they have better control over their motor behaviors. In addition, they learn to judge the risks based on their own competencies while trying to play safely with these tools, which is a very important skill to have that keeps them safe over the lifespan.

Target age: 5 -10 years old.

Equipment setup for the game "Bob the Builder"

Apparatus/equipment needed and environmental space/set-up:

• Tools: prepare scissors, utility knives, hammers and nails, screwdriver and screws, safety goggles
• Building material: Paper, cardboard boxes, thick wood blocks, wool strings, glue, tape
• Set-up: utility knives and hammers and nails will be put at one station while screwdrivers and screws and scissors will be put at another station so children are not all crowded together, and the use of comparatively more dangerous tools (utility knives and hammers and nails) can be supervised more closely together. Building materials will be put at another place where children are free to grab anything they want, then they can proceed to use the tools.

• Environment: classroom
• A prerequisite of this activity is that children are taught the use and dangers of each tool and have practiced using each tool previously under supervision. Once the teachers know that each student can safely manipulate the tools, they can proceed to let students complete this activity.

• If required, consent is needed from the parents in order for children to participate in this activity.

Instructions:

• Children are instructed to use the building materials (i.e. paper, cardboard boxes) and change them however they want by using the tools in a safe manner.
  

  Example of what a completed project could look like
  Examples can be given:
  • Thick wood is used as the base so screws and nails can be inserted
  • Screws or nails can be used as eyes
  • Screws and nails can also be used as pivot points for the wool strings to go around to form shapes
  • Paper can be cut with scissors or utility knives and be stuck on with glue or tape as hair
  • Cardboard can be used to create 3D structures or cut apart with utility knives

Modifications

• Other harmful tools could be added when appropriate, such as hacksaws to cut thin pieces of wood.
  • Hacksaws would require more strength to operate accurately and safely, thus teachers must screen the children to make sure they have the ability to use it safely before adding this tool to the activity

Game Title: Dodgeball

Purpose statement: This game can help children develop better perceptual competencies as they try to dodge the ball and throw the ball. It can be a very fun game, but it does come with the risk of getting injured by being hit by the ball, tripping and falling, or running into other people. Through this risky play, children learn to control their bodies and movements and do risk assessments of where they should run to next to avoid being hit by the ball. They also learn to regulate their fear and excitement during play.

Target age: 3-10 years old, but it is advised that children of ages 3 to 4 at most play with children 5 to 6 years old, given their physical maturity differences. Children 5-6 should be able to play with 10-year-old children with less of a difference in abilities.

Diagram of what the area of play would look like and where students stand.

Apparatus/equipment needed and environmental space/set-up:

• Environment: an open area children can run freely in (i.e. open area of playground, gym, classroom with all chairs and tables moved away)
• Equipment: a very soft ball that will unlikely cause injury upon impact with the body is needed, preferably with a size that is not too small, as children might step and trip on it, but not too big that it may increase the risk of injuries.

Instructions:

• Children are divided into two teams, and each team has their own square space that they can run in.
• At first, two balls can be used, one on each team to start with
• The purpose is to throw the ball to hit the body, not the head, of the opposing team members
  • Teachers should tell the older students to throw lightly towards younger children ages 3 to 4 to reduce injury risks
• Whoever the ball touches after it is thrown is out of the game. If you catch the ball thrown towards you, you are not out and can continue playing.
• The team that hits everyone in the opposing team first wins the game.

Modifications

• One modification of the rule is that people who are out of the game will go stand outside the opposing team’s square, facing towards their own team. They can still participate by throwing the ball towards the opposing team members to get them out of the game. Because this raises the intensity of the game a lot, it must be stressed that the ball cannot be thrown to the head. This modification is more suitable for children above 5 years old.
• Another modification is that more balls are added in the game to increase the intensity of the game. This modification is more suitable for children above 5 years old.

Summary

Play is often related to fear and children engage in risky play to experience the excitement. Risky play encourages physical activity and aids the development of locomotor skills, decreasing sedentary behaviour. Risky play provides affordances to explore the environment and develop an understanding of possibilities and constraints. It also affords psychological development, perceptual competency development, exploration of phobias, and minimizing inhibitions. Despite perceived risks, risky play should be encouraged due to the many benefits for the development of children. Games that can be played to allow children to engage in risky play include Pirate Tag, Bob the Builder, and Dodgeball.

References

Aldis, O. (1975). Play fighting. New York, NY: Academic Press

Apter, M. J. (2007). Danger: Our quest for excitement. Oxford: Oneworld

Bundy, A. C. (2009). The risk is that there is ‘no risk’: A simple, innovative intervention to increase children’s activity levels. International Journal of Early Years Education, 17(1), 33-45. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1080/09669760802699878

Bjorklund, D. F., & Pellegrini, A. D. (2000). Child development and evolutionary psychology. Child Development, 71(6), 1687–1708. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00258

Brussoni, M., Olsen, L. L., Pike, I., & Sleet, D. A. (2012). Risky play and children’s safety: Balancing priorities for optimal child development. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 9(9), 3134-3148. doi:10.3390/ijerph9093134

Gray, C., Gibbons, R., Larouche, R., Sandseter, E. B. H., Bienestock, A., Brussoni, M., Chabot, G., Herrington, S., Janssen, I., Pickett, W., Power, M., Stanger, N., Sampson, 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. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120606455

Little, H., & Eager, D. (2010). Risk, challenge and safety: Implications for play quality and playground design. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 18(4), 497–513. doi:10.1080/1350293X.2010.525949

Little, H., Wyver, S., & Gibson, F. (2011). The influence of play context and adult attitudes on young children’s physical risk-taking during outdoor play. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 19(1), 113–131. doi:10.1080/1350293X.2011.548959

Outdoor Play Canada. (2018). The benefits of outdoor play. Retrieved from https://www.outdoorplaycanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Fuse_PositionStatement_OutdoorPlay_Infographic2018.pdf

Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. (2008). Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Report, 2008. Retrieved from U.S Department of Health and Human Services website:  https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/paguide.pdf

Rakison, D. H. (2005). Infant perception and cognition: An evolutionary perspective on early learning. In Ellis, B. J. and Bjorklund, D. F. (Eds.), Origins of the social mind: Evolutionary psychology and child development (pp. 317–353). New York, NY: Guilford Press

Sandseter, E. B. H. (2007). Categorizing risky play - How can we identify risk-taking in children’s play. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 15(2), 237-252. doi:10.1080/13502930701321733

Sandseter, E. B. H., & Kennair, L. E. O. (2011). Children’s risky play from an evolutionary perspective: The anti-phobic effects of thrilling experiences. Evolutionary Psychology, 9(2), 257-275. https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491100900212

Smith, P. K. (1982). Does play matter? Functional and evolutionary aspects of animal and human play. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 5, 139–184. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X0001092X

Statistics Canada. (2019). Physical Activity and screen time among Canadian children and youth. Retrieved from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/82-625-x/2019001/article/00003-eng.pdf?st=hRmXhnuu

Stephenson, A. 2003. Physical risk-taking: Dangerous or endangered?. Early Years, 23(1), 35–43. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1080/0957514032000045573

Sutton-Smith, B. (1997). The ambiguity of play. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press