Climbing trees, fighting for laughs, running at full speed or building a cabin with tools: these once mundane activities are gradually disappearing from children’s daily lives. The cause is a growing obsession with security which tends to eliminate all forms of risk. However, scientific data is accumulating: depriving children of these experiences could harm their physical, social and mental development. Since 2024, the Canadian Pediatric Society has advocated for a more nuanced approach, promoting “risky play” as a health lever.
Risky play, an essential driver of development
Risky play refers to free, stimulating and uncertain activities, where the child himself chooses his level of engagement in the face of risk. Far from being marginal, this type of play plays a fundamental role in development.
On a physical level, it promotes intense activity, motor skills and what specialists call “physical literacy”, that is to say the ability to move effectively throughout life. On a mental level, the benefits are just as marked: reduction of stress, improvement of self-confidence and development of adaptation skills.
Some recent research even suggests a link between reduced risky play and increased anxiety disorders in children. By gradually exposing themselves to uncertain situations – height, speed, confrontation – children learn to tame their fears. An essential experience in a context where mental health disorders now affect nearly one in five young people in Western countries.
Between risk and danger: a key distinction
One of the main obstacles to risky gambling is a persistent confusion between “risk” and “danger”. However, experts insist: it is not a question of leaving children in a dangerous situation, but of allowing them to take controlled risks.
Danger is a threat that the child cannot anticipate or control – such as a faulty structure. Risk is a situation that the child can evaluate and manage according to his abilities. It is precisely in this zone that learning takes place.
In fact, injuries linked to risky play are most often minor (scratches, bruises). Serious injuries remain rare, and some studies even show that children are injured less in free play than in organized sports. A reality which questions “security at all costs” policies, often motivated by legal rather than health issues.
A generation lacking freedom
Since the 1990s, educational standards have evolved toward increased surveillance of children. Result: less free outdoor play, more supervised activities, and increased screen time. This shift would have contributed to what some researchers call a “risk deficit”.
Deprived of opportunities to experiment, children develop less autonomy and their ability to manage uncertainty. Several specialists draw a parallel between this development and the increase in anxiety and behavioral disorders.
Faced with this observation, experts are calling for a paradigm shift: aiming for “necessary security” rather than absolute security. Concretely, this involves making environments safe while giving children the freedom to explore, fail… and learn.
Towards a new educational balance
Allowing risky play does not mean abandoning prevention, but rethinking its role. Adults – parents, teachers, educators – are invited to identify real dangers, while allowing children the opportunity to assess and manage the risks themselves.
This approach also involves changing your outlook: accepting that a child falls, hesitates or takes initiatives is an integral part of their development. As pediatricians point out, these experiences help prevent major problems such as obesity, anxiety or behavioral disorders.
At a time when there is concern about the mental health of young people, the return of free and adventurous play could well represent a simple, accessible and deeply human response: giving children back the right to play… really.