Risky play

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Risky play in Norwegian Early Childhood Education
The Framework Plan for the Content and Tasks of Kindergartens
The framework plan (curriculum) in Norway states that:
“Kindergartens shall provide children with opportunities for play, self-expression and meaningful experiences and activities in safe, yet challenging surroundings”
This includes a focus on the importance of a challenging play environment.
An important part of the framework is the kindergarten staff’s responsibility to let children encounter these challenges through play and activity.

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Children and risk-taking in play
•Risky play involves thrilling and exciting forms of physical play that involve uncertainty and a risk of physical injury (Sandseter, 2010, p. 22)
•Part of the child’s process of “becoming at home in the world”, they learn risk assessment and how to master risk situations - and ultimately develop a sound sense of risk (Adams, 2001; Ball, 2002; Smith, 1998)
•Play safety discussion throughout the western world
•Balancing safety and the opportunities for children to play and develop
•Six categories of risky play
Categories of risky play(Sandseter, 2007)

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Play with great HEIGHTS
Danger of injury from falling
•Climbing in trees, on rocks, on fences, in hillsides, on buildings etc.
•Jumping from still or flexible surfaces
•Balancing on high objects
•Hanging/swinging at great heights
Play with high SPEED
Uncontrolled speed and pace that can lead to collision with something (or someone)
•Swinging at high speed
•Sliding and sledging at high speed
•Running uncontrollably at high speed
•Bicycling at high speed
•Skating and skiing at high speed

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Play with high SPEED in winter…
Play with dangerous TOOLS
…that can lead to injuries
•Cutting tools: Knifes, saws, axes
•Strangling tools: Ropes, etc.

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Play near dangerous ELEMENTS
Where you can fall into or from something
•Cliffs
•Deep water or icy water
•Fire pits
ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE play
Where children can uninten- tionally harm each other
•Wrestling
•Fencing with sticks, etc.
•Play fighting

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Play where the children can ”disappear” / get lost
•”Go exploring” alone without any fences
Why do children take risks in play?
•“It tickles in my tummy”
•Both pleasant and unpleasant emotions at the same time → “Scaryfunny”
It’s very fun and very scary and all sorts of things…and then I feel both excited and really scared at the same time! (Martin, 5 years)
•They balance on the edge between excitement and fear - ambiguity
•Children will seek to experience this ambiguous thrill not matter how safe we make our playground equipment

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Developmental perspective
•Anti-phobic effect on natural fears and phobias (evolved)
–Fear of heights (Poulton m.fl., 1998)
–Fear of water (Poulton m.fl., 1999)
–Fear of separation (Poulton m.fl., 2001)
Natural progressive approch
•Over protection → anxious children → anxiety (Allen & Rapee, 2005)
•Gaining courage thorugh mastering challenging and scary tasks, and developing a realistic and sound sense of the actual risk (Aldis, 1975; Ball, 2002; Boyesen, 1997)
Developmental perspective
•Physical/motor competence
–Muscle strength, coordination, balance, moveability, reaction skills, etc.
–Bodily consciousness, knowledge of own body in its environments (its potentials and limitations)
(Bekoff and Byers, 1981; Bjorklund and Pellegrini, 2000; Byers and Walker, 1995; Humphreys and Smith, 1987; Pellegrini and Smith, 1998)
•Perception of objects, depth, height, speed – and adjustment of movements according to them(Rakison, 2005)
–Spatial – orientation skills (Bjorklund and Pellegrini, 2002; Fiskum, 2004)

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Children’s own risk management = injury prevention
•Children’s own
–Physical and motor skills
–Spatial –orientation skills
–Realistic risk perception and assessment
–Knowing the environment and themselves better
•…means being able to mange risks in a better way!
•For a child to be able to master risk situations, it would necessarily have to draw near the situation, and thereby increasing the risk
Children’s own risk management = injury prevention
•Risks vs. hazards (Sandseter & Kennair, 2011)
•Serious vs. minor injuries (Sandseter & Kennair, 2011)
•Physical active children are less injured (Bloemers et al, 2012)
•Children that engage in risky play are better at risk assessment (Dutch study, “Riscki”, University of Leuven)
”When all ”risk” is removed from the environment, there is a dangerous border where safety becomes impending, and instead contribute in heightening the risk of accidents”
(Boyesen 1997)

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The play environment is very important
•The number of playground installations have a highly positive effect on children's physical activity (and thereby their development, learning and health)
•3-4% more physical activity per day for each extra playground equipment installed (Nilsen et al., 2010)
•The theory of affordances
•The affordances of the environment are what it “invite” us to do
•Affordances includes both the environment and the person: affordances are unique for each individual, and correspond with the individuals size of body, strength, skills, courage, fear etc.
•Children’s outdoor environment affords different kinds of play, and children perceive the functions of the environment as invitations for certain activities (Heft, 1988)

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Playground safety in Norway
•Generally, the Norwegian society (parents, child care workers, playground owners etc) is very liberal regarding children’s risk-taking in play and opportunities for that
•Still, Norway also has problems concerning safety regulations of playgrounds and playground equipment
–The Regulation on safety of playground equipment (FOR 1996-07-19 nr 703) is statutory , - this means all playground owners need to comply with them
–NS-EN 1176 (translation of EN 1176) – these are just recommendations, not statutory
–Private “Playground controllers” has emerged, due to the lack of a governmental system, and because there is a large potential for money

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The playhut and the safety controller
Preschool staff’s perspectives (Sandseter, 2011)
116 preschool staff, questionnaire
•Norwegian preschool staff generally allow children opportunities for positive risk-taking in kindergarten, both girls and boys
•Most Norwegian preschool staff have few worries when children engage in risky play
•Male preschool staff are higher excitement seeking than female practitioners, have a more liberal attitude towards children’s risky play and also allow more risky play than women
•Young preschool staff have a more liberal attitude towards children’s risky play and also allow more risky play than older preschool staff

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Injuries in Norwegian preschools/kindergartens (Sandseter, Sando, Pareliussen, Egset, 2013)
1700 preschool managers, questionnaire/injury registration
•1 in 10 children experience an injury per year during their time in preschool
•97.9 % of these are minor injuries that is fixed with a band aid or some comfort
•0.2 % are serious injuries (in 2012 only fractured sculls)
•1.9 % are moderate injuries (primarily broken bones or concussions)
•Falls and collisions most common moderate injury situations, but often unforeseeable happenings (falls from flat ground or small heights)
•Most moderate injuries outside
•No gender differences in moderate injuries, but boys experience more minor injuries
•No age differences in injuries
This is despite the fact that Norwegian preschool/kindergarten children to a large extent are allowed to engage in risky play in diverse play environment