Play and risk
W
hich word
is missing
from this
title?
There are
long-
standing and ongoing debates
and discussions in the UK
about the fact that children
‘need risk’ when they play.
What do we mean by that? How
can risk be good for a child?
What if they injure themselves?
‘What about my reputation?’ I
hear some parents and policy
makers ask!
What is missing is the reason
for the bald statement
that children ‘need risk’.
What is also missing is
an understanding of the
consequences of protecting
children from exposure to risk;
if they are not experiencing
risk, what else are they
missing? Children need to
be able to fulfil and engage
with their right to play in the
way that they choose. That
choice can be exciting and
challenging, and it is this
excitement and challenge
that happens to bring with it
an element of risk. Through
that exposure to risk, valuable
life lessons are learnt, even if
(perhaps especially if) the child
is not aware of the learning
process.
So the word that is missing
from the title is ‘benefit’. It
would be possible to protect
children against exposure to
risk, but they would lose out in
at least two stark ways: deny
exposure to risk and you deny
the child a play opportunity;
deny exposure to a risk and
you deny the child a chance
66 Landscape & Urban Design