As parents and care takers, we can become averse to watching our children take risks, as we fear for their safety. This “helicopter parenting style” might feel good for us as we are protecting our children, when in fact we may be doing the very opposite. Risky play in early childhood supports vital aspects of our development and can equipped our children with the skill set to become strong, confident, resilient adults.
The benefits can be; the development of self-confidence, resilience, executive functioning abilities, risk-management skills, ability to deal with failure, problem-solving/creativity and their physical development.
Of course in saying this, it does not mean ignoring that risk exists and setting your children free to figure life out for themselves. It means opening up conversations with them around risk and how to stay safe, how to regulate our emotions when we fall and of course most important how to have fun.
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