Key Points
- A study by Deakin University researchers has found Australian parents are the most risk-averse in the world.
- The study found four in five Australian parents limited their kids' participation in "risky" activities.
- The study's lead says it's important for kids' development to take risks at an early age.
Australian parents worried about their children's safety and reining in risks on the playground may be causing kids to become less active.
A world-first study by Deakin University researchers has found Australian parents are the most risk-averse in the world - surpassing New Zealand, Canada and the UK - with their own fears of injury affecting the activities they let their kids partake in.
Children develop crucial skills by testing limits and exploring boundaries through "risky play", which involves climbing trees, riding bikes, roughhousing or play fighting.
The study found four in five Australian parents, of 645 surveyed, limited their kids' participation in "risky" activities despite acknowledging the benefits such activities have on early childhood development.
Study lead and PhD student Alethea Jerebine, from Deakin's School of Health and Social Development and the UK Coventry University's Centre for Sport, said the results were "shocking".
The Deakin University study found that 78 per cent of parents did not let their children partake in "risky behaviour" such as riding a bicycle fast or regularly climbing trees. Source: Getty / Andrey Moisseyev
She also said these children were three times less physically active and less likely to meet the Australian physical activity guidelines.
While there was no difference between male and female parents' tolerance for risky play, the study found mothers were more concerned about injuries.
Jerebine said that this concern that their children would get hurt resulted in less physical activity and outdoor play.
Risky play leads to 'risk intelligence'
"It's really important for kids to start taking risks from an early age," Jerebine said.
"It helps kids find out what they can and can't do. So it helps them to learn about risk and how to keep themselves safe. Learning about risk is all about re-calibration.
"You do something, you might make a mistake, you think, 'I'm not going to do that again.' And that's the process of learning. And it's incremental."
Monash University laureate professor Marilyn Fleer said these opportunities to build competence and confidence allowed kids to navigate risky situations in the future.
Fleer says research shows that, "when children build that capacity to be able to make those judgements, make assessments, what happens is that they develop a kind of risk intelligence".
"So they can see a situation and they can read it for danger because they over time built that skill set."
As such, Fleer is critical of schools removing monkey bars or banning cartwheels, measures that have become increasingly popular.
How can parents encourage risky behaviour in a safe way?
Fleer said it was important to match physical challenges to the age and capability of a child, keeping in mind young children under three were still developing skills like balance.
"You want to give them things that they can climb that are in proportion to the height so when they fall, they're not falling a long distance," she said.
"The important thing is to gradually increase the complexity of the challenge for them. So provide them with extra heights or extra kinds of equipment that they could use."
Jerebine encouraged parents to consider their use of language.
"Stop and think, why am I asking my child to be careful?" she said.
"Is there an instruction I can give them that will help them around ... think about where you're going to put your hand next."
