Memories of Risky Play     

When I was about 8 years old, we lived in a neighborhood with children of every age…so many friends to enjoy! And I had a built-in play partner in my younger (by 20 months) brother. This was in the late 1950’s… the days when children went out in the morning and came home in the evening. Our next-door neighbors, two older boys and a younger girl, were some of our most constant companions. One day, we saw a small hole in the alley behind our back yard fences. It was intriguing and we started to dig to see how deep we could go. Over the course of many days, our work resulted in a cavern-like hole underground. Sliding down a narrow tunnel landed you in that dark and damp space…we thought we were quite the adventurers. When I think of it now, claustrophobia and a sense of horror overcome me! What if it collapsed? What if we couldn’t crawl back up that tunnel? Did our moms even know where we were? What about light down there? But these are all adult questions–we didn’t consider any of those things. And that’s typical for risky play today, isn’t it? If it looks like fun, if others want to join in, if it fits into the stories in their minds–then why not go for it? What kind of adventures did you have? Were there open spaces where you could roam free? Did you have experiences as a child that now we would call “risky”? Did you do things that your parents never knew about? Are there activities that you allow your children to do now that perhaps you were not permitted to enjoy? So many things to think about with risky play. We would love to hear your stories!     

Another risky play opportunity that often gets forbidden is stick play. Maybe it is gathering twigs after a rainstorm…maybe it is building a fort with the branches from a recent tree trimming…maybe it is simply coming across a stick on a walk. Children seem naturally drawn to anything remotely stick-like (including rulers, yardsticks, pool noodles and other manmade items!). One of my favorite books to share with children (and adults, if they don’t know it) is Not A Stick. This lovely book by Antoinette Portis is a celebration of all the things that a young mind can imagine about the stick that he discovered. It is an encouragement for thinking, dreaming, innovating and designing–STEM at its best! Enjoy it with young adventurers around you…then go out and find sticks of your own.     

Sometimes play can be hard to watch when our adult minds go places of danger and chaos. Helping the adults around you–whether family members, teachers or just the other parent on the park bench–come to terms with risky play can be a challenge. Here’s a page to give families and teachers a way to positively encourage risky play while still keeping things safe.

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