Features

In My View - Let them learn from risk

'Nervous' nursery schools could be harming the development of young children.

We owe it to the futures of individual children and to a healthy society to foster habits of adventurous outdoor activities as early as possible.

Modern play areas are often not helpful, operating as 'holding areas' rather than spaces in which to play. A concrete square has few visible risks, and yet children fall or push each other over and accidents happen. It may even be that some of the 'accidents' are the result of the limitations of the space, a direct correlation with the sterile safety being offered to the children.

Perhaps if they had the challenge of a pile of logs to scramble over, the risks would be focused, could be discussed and managed, and learning could take place. There is a school of thought that says if children have exciting reasonable risks to undertake, they will be less likely to find unreasonable ones for themselves.

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