March 30, 2025 • 14 mins
Science confirms what our grandparents instinctively knew—children who engage in risky outdoor play develop better motor skills, higher self-esteem, improved social behaviour, and greater problem-solving abilities. Counterintuitively, keeping kids at low heights doesn't prevent injuries, as most fractures occur close to the ground anyway. When we let children climb high, use sharp tools, play with dangerous elements, and occasionally disappear from adult supervision, we're not being negligent—we're helping them develop crucial life skills that no amount of supervised indoor activities can provide.
Quote of the Episode:
"When did injuring yourself become such a big deal? I mean, when we were kids, it was so exciting to walk in and see that somebody had a cast on their arm—the superhero in the classroom." - Justin Coulson
Key Points:
- Risky play is different from hazardous activity—the child can assess the risk themselves and there's a clear benefit.
- Children who engage in risky play show improved risk detection, increased competence, higher self-esteem, and decreased conflict sensitivity.
- Research shows more developed motor skills, better social behaviour, greater independence, and improved conflict resolution in children with access to unsupervised outdoor play.
- Today's children spend less time outdoors and in unstructured play than ever before in history.
- Fracture frequency and severity is not related to the height of playground equipment—54% of arm fractures occur at low heights.
- Sharp knives are actually safer than blunt knives (they require less force and are less likely to slip).
- Types of risky play include activities involving heights, speed, dangerous tools, dangerous elements, rough-and-tumble play, and the possibility of getting lost.
- Play where children can disappear or get lost and risky play environments are positively associated with physical activity and social health.
- Rough and tumble play doesn't increase aggression and is associated with increased social competence.
- Risky play supports playtime, social interactions, creativity, and resilience.
Resources Mentioned:
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015) meta-analysis on risky outdoor play
- Happy Families website
Action Steps for Parents:
- Distinguish between hazardous activities (where children can't assess risk) and beneficial risky play.
- Allow age-appropriate risk-taking, such as climbing heights, using real tools, or playing at speed.
- Step back and monitor from a distance rather than constantly supervising.
- Provide opportunities for unstructured outdoor play where children can make their own decisions.
- Remember that injuries are part of childhood development and rarely as serious as our fears suggest.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Today we're going to tell you how to help your
children to be more socially agile, more resilient, have higher
self esteem, be better problem solvers, in fact, be generally
better all round kids by doing one simple thing. It's
a very special doctor's desk episode of the Happy Families
(00:26):
podcast Real Parenting Solutions every day on Australia's most downloaded
parenting podcast. We are Justin and Kylie Coulson. Kylie, you
love it when we talk science. These are your favorite episodes,
And today we are going to get right into the
nitty gritty of an International Journal of Environmental Research and
Public Health twenty fifteen meta analysis systematic review about risky
(00:48):
outdoor play and how healthy our children will be.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Well, let's get straight into it. Then. What is risky play?
Because you start saying things like that and with an
intro like you gay, and I'm feeling a little bit
nervous about what it is you're actually asking me as
a parent to do.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Okay, am I supposed.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
To hand my three year old's a box of matches
and leave her to figure out what happens when we
strike a match? Am I supposed to give my five
year old a sharp knife? And tell them to go
cut their own apple. Like, what is it you're asking
me to do? All right, let's leave my kid in
the park at seven and tell them to find their
(01:28):
way home.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Well, Lanoscanazi did it with a nine year old on
the subway in New York City. Let's distinguish between risky
play and genuinely hazardous or dangerous activity. Okay, So the
researchers who wrote this paper have done exactly that, which
is why I've suggested we start there. Dangerous or hazardous
activity is something where a child can't assess for themselves
(01:52):
what the risks are or there's no clear benefit to
them doing it.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
So, for example, so as a.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Three year old can't can't as says, the risk of
crossing the road when a car's coming.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Yeah, probably, Like if you're playing in the park and
there's no fence and the kids could run across the road,
that would be hazardous.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
That would be dangerous.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I mean that's just not sensible, right, So that's not
what I'm talking about when I say we're going to
talk about risky play.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Risky play, But what about my eighteen month old who
wants to climb the stairs?
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Yeah, they start to figure that out, and there is
definitely a benefit to it as well. Okay, So there
are two things. They've got to be able to assess
the risk and there needs to be.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
A level of benefit to it.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
There is no benefit to letting the kids run around
and kick a footy at the age of three and
four right next to a busy highway. Okay, find somewhere
away from the road. That's an unnecessary In fact, it's
a negligent level of risk.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
But your child learning.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
To navigate stairs from that eighteen to twenty four month
age range, that's completely reasonable, totally normal. In fact, i'd
say maybe even a little bit younger, that depth perception
comes in and there is an element of risk, but
it's developmentally appropriate and there's a benefit to them experiencing
the risk because they learn how to navigate their environment effectively.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Risky play in our context today means that the child
can identify that there is a risk, or there is
a challenge, or there is something hazardous, and they've got
the cognitive capacity to decide on their course of action.
All right, They're the two things that are critical here.
So you asked about matches before, I would say that
(03:27):
a three year old probably doesn't really have the cognitive
capacity to fully understand and comprehend what might happen. If
they're able to light that match in the first place,
they could burn the house down, they could set the
forest on fire. That would be hazardous. But a seven
year old they can, and I would say absolutely, let
your seven year old play with matches. Doesn't mean that
they're going to do it completely unsupervised. There needs to
(03:49):
be an appropriate level of monitoring, but you can step
away and let them have that fun. Some other examples
maybe using a knife to cut the orange or the apple,
or the chicken for dinner, that kind of thing. I
should note here using a blunt knife is far more
dangerous than using a very sharp knife. So with a
(04:11):
really sharp knife, yes, if it cuts you, it's going
to do some serious damage. But the reality is sharp
knives don't tend to cut people. They just cut the
thing they're supposed to be cutting. Whereas with a blunt
knife you have to push harder, it takes a lot
more force, it doesn't grip as well, and so the
knife might slip off, and that's when you're much more
likely to get cut or accidentally stab yourself for somebody
(04:32):
else with a blunt knife. So sharp knives are safer
than blunt knives.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Isn't it interesting?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Interesting?
Speaker 3 (04:40):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Other examples of risky play Kylie playing with dangerous tools, hammering, nailing,
getting the saw out, and chopping the tree down because
Dad can't climb up high enough in the tree, so
he sends the nine year up to do it instead.
You're not laughing at that. That was meant to be
a really funny joke.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Well, after you fell off the roof, I'm not.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
So yeah, okay, fair enough, but well, things with height,
things with speed, things where you could slap it if
you fall over. They're the kinds of things that we're
talking about with risky play.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
So our children who enjoy climbing on top of the
roof at night to watch the start.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Yes, great, great, great, great great great.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Let me tell you why this is a study.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
So the overall four year old who decided she wanted
to walk to her friend's house that was eight kill
a meters away, that.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Was not okay.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
And we're so glad that the policeman who picked her
up on the street that day was one.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Of our friends.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
It's funny how like if you don't lock the front
door and you've got little kids, they can sneak out
and they will just try to go places. We learned
that lesson and it was a valuable lesson. Thank you
for reminding me. This is a synthesis of a whole
lot of studies. So I'm going to share one study
that they refer to. In this study, children in an
experimental group that were exposed to a fourteen week risky
(05:54):
play intervention. That is, they were encouraged to do rough
and tumble play, or play with dane elements or tools,
or speed or heights, or even be in a situation
where they could disappear from the supervision of adults or
get lost.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Kids who pray, so I should be applauded for my
four year old kids.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
She's always been pretty resilient and a good problem solver.
Kids who were involved in a fourteen I can't even
speak now in a fourteen week risky play intervention improve
their risk detection, improve their competence, They increased their self esteem,
and they decreased their conflict sensitivity relative to their pre
intervention performance, as well as when they were compared to
a control group that didn't do the risky play intervention
(06:33):
at all. What this essentially says, and there's another study
across sectional study compared children with and without ready access
to unsupervised outdoor play opportunities and found more developed motor skills,
improved social behavior, greater independence, and a better capacity for
conflict resolution for the kids that were doing the risky play. Overall,
we end up with more self esteem. Kids just do
(06:54):
better when their parents let them do things that are
dangerous and, as I've been saying on the podcast, year
could potentially land them in hospital if things go wrong.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
I remember in one of the opening scenes of Parental Guidance,
one of the parents walked outside to offer their children
some afternoon tea. Yeah, and here is her son. He
has literally scaled the street light outside their house and
he was at the very top and she just looked
up and she said, did you want guacamole for afternoon tea?
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
He said, yeah, sure mom. It was like she didn't
even flinch.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Really happy kids, really well adjusted, doing really really well.
In fact, they ended up winning Parental Guidance. The parents
who let their kids literally climb the lamp poles in
the street after the break We're going to share more
about what this risky play looks like and some studies
that can help you feel better about letting the kids
go a little crazy. Okay, Kylie. There's a whole lot
(07:57):
of research around this. It's a provocative topic. We like
to bubble wrap and cotton wooler kids. We want them
to be safe. I want to share a couple of
studies that literally as I was reading through this paper
that we will linked to in the show notes. The
paper itself is called what is the Relationship between Risky
Outdoor Play and Health in Children? A Systematic Review. There's
(08:19):
about fifteen researchers that have worked on this thing, and
a couple of times, not only did I underline what
I was reading, but I also wrote the word wow
in the margins because I was so blown away by
what it showed. Let me highlight a couple of things.
First of all, risky play does involve some risk. It
(08:40):
is possible that your child may end up with a
fractured elbow humorous phibia TVA.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Or you will because you rescue them or attempt to
rescue them.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
There is a chance that there'll be cuts and scratches
and bruises, somebody might injure themselves.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Okay, that's the very idea of it. Though, then did.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Injure in yourself become such a big deal.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
I mean, when we were kids, it was so exciting
to walk in and see that somebody had a passed
on their arms.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Was like, wow, the superhero in the classroom. Everybody wanted
to know.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
You one of our daughters has fallen off. Let's call
it monkey bars. It was a rail that she was
swinging on like a monkey bar. She broke her arm,
same daughter a few years later on a trapeze when
we were on a holiday in Bali and fractured her
arm there as well.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Oh, the story is way better than that.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yeah, well, I'm mind full of time.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
But why don't you feel like she was trying to
do the greatest Showman trapez act where you pass like
you go from your trapeze and you get caught by
someone else.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Yeah, so you're upside down and you put your arms
out and you flip off yours and jump into the
arms of somebody else on the other trapeze.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Well, the other one just happened to be some muscular,
very very attractive young man that she was so excited
he was going to catch her, and in the flurry
of trying to do the trick, she forgot everything.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
Yeah yeah, and she fractured her.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Worst thing is we didn't know it was broken, and
she got up there and tried it again, and fortunately
she didn't make the catch again, but I mean, it
could have been terrible. And then we flew home that
night not knowing that she had a broken arm. And
the following week she played netball not knowing she had
a broken arm. And after the netball game she was like,
my arm really hurts, and we're like, well, we've already
had an X ray, nothing had shown up, but this
(10:21):
time it did show up. Anyway, I digress. Great story.
I'm glad you shed that extra detailed made us. Guys,
we've got a child who's walked away down the street
at four and now we've got a child who's flown
home from Bali with a broken arm and we didn't
know for a week. You're making this making this look
really bad. I want to share a couple of wow
moments from this particular paper, because this is a doctor's
(10:43):
desk episode and we do have to talk about the science. Okay, Kylie,
So here's what we know. Kids spend less time outdoors
and less time in unstructured play, and they have more
time in adult structured activities now than they ever have
in history because parents are keeping their kids inside and
keeping an eye on them. And what that's led to
(11:04):
is that access to risky outdoor play has diminished, and
as a result, kids are less interested in playing at playgrounds,
less interested in playing outside, and more oriented towards just
playing it safe and staying near their parents. This is
working against what's in the best interests of kids, but
it works really well for parents, right because we feel safe,
(11:26):
they're right here beside us. We can see what they're doing.
They're on the carpet in the living room, and the
screen is keeping them quiet.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Yeah, but we're also more exhausted than we've ever been
because we have to. We feel like we have to
take care of our kids twenty four seven. We have
to be in their space. We don't have the cognitive
psychological space that we once had because our children are
always there. We're not allowing them to be their own
person and to experience life in a way that helps
(11:56):
them to grow and problem solve on their own.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah, it's interesting, like there's two things both working against
kids being outdoors and maybe more like you said, we're
so busy, but we're also really worried about them. And
then there's just the fact that inside is so convenient
and it's so enticing, so enticing. I think that it imitates,
it imitates what the real world provides. Not that's the
(12:21):
wrong word.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
It supports.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
It makes kids feel like their needs are being met
better than the like instant gratification, instant reward, cheap dopamine,
rather than going out and having to build that treehouse
or ride up that hill or do those hard things.
There's just one more thing that I really wanted to highlight.
I mean, I could go on and on. There's so
much in this study, but one thing in particular really
(12:46):
caught me, and that was this one study by a
researcher called Ruby Davies showed that fracture frequency and severity
is not related to the height of playground equipment. That is, fractures,
which count for forty two percent of playground fractures, we're
(13:06):
just as likely to occur at low heights as they
were above that mark. In fact, fifty four percent are
at low heights forty six percent are at high heights. Now,
it might just be that more kids are hanging around
at low levels, but most of the fractures are occurring at.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Low levels, not at high levels.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
So we're trying to keep our kids low to the ground.
We're trying to keep them safe, but they can still
get hurt there, and they're finding the playgrounds boring and
they're looking for other things to do. Anyway, overall, this
is a really clear picture. Our kids need risky play.
It benefits them. Here's the conclusion. Specifically, play where children
(13:50):
can disappear or get lost and risky play supportive environments
are positively associated with physical activity and social health and
negative associated with sedentary behavior. Play at height not related
to fracture frequency or severity. Engaging in rough and tumble
play doesn't increase aggression, and it's associated with increased social
(14:13):
competence for boys and popular kids. However, the results are
a bit mixed for other kids, and there's also an
indication that risky play is supportive of playtime, social interactions, creativity,
and resilience.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
Case closed.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
The Happy Families podcast is produced by Justin Rowland from
Bridge Media. If you'd like more information, and more resources
to make your family happier. Visit us at happy families
dot com dot au
Today we're going to tell you how to help your
children to be more socially agile, more resilient, have higher
self esteem, be better problem solvers, in fact, be generally
better all round kids by doing one simple thing. It's
a very special doctor's desk episode of the Happy Families
(00:26):
podcast Real Parenting Solutions every day on Australia's most downloaded
parenting podcast. We are Justin and Kylie Coulson. Kylie, you
love it when we talk science. These are your favorite episodes,
And today we are going to get right into the
nitty gritty of an International Journal of Environmental Research and
Public Health twenty fifteen meta analysis systematic review about risky
(00:48):
outdoor play and how healthy our children will be.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Well, let's get straight into it. Then. What is risky play?
Because you start saying things like that and with an
intro like you gay, and I'm feeling a little bit
nervous about what it is you're actually asking me as
a parent to do.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Okay, am I supposed.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
To hand my three year old's a box of matches
and leave her to figure out what happens when we
strike a match? Am I supposed to give my five
year old a sharp knife? And tell them to go
cut their own apple. Like, what is it you're asking
me to do? All right, let's leave my kid in
the park at seven and tell them to find their
(01:28):
way home.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Well, Lanoscanazi did it with a nine year old on
the subway in New York City. Let's distinguish between risky
play and genuinely hazardous or dangerous activity. Okay, So the
researchers who wrote this paper have done exactly that, which
is why I've suggested we start there. Dangerous or hazardous
activity is something where a child can't assess for themselves
(01:52):
what the risks are or there's no clear benefit to
them doing it.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
So, for example, so as a.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Three year old can't can't as says, the risk of
crossing the road when a car's coming.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Yeah, probably, Like if you're playing in the park and
there's no fence and the kids could run across the road,
that would be hazardous.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
That would be dangerous.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I mean that's just not sensible, right, So that's not
what I'm talking about when I say we're going to
talk about risky play.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Risky play, But what about my eighteen month old who
wants to climb the stairs?
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Yeah, they start to figure that out, and there is
definitely a benefit to it as well. Okay, So there
are two things. They've got to be able to assess
the risk and there needs to be.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
A level of benefit to it.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
There is no benefit to letting the kids run around
and kick a footy at the age of three and
four right next to a busy highway. Okay, find somewhere
away from the road. That's an unnecessary In fact, it's
a negligent level of risk.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
But your child learning.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
To navigate stairs from that eighteen to twenty four month
age range, that's completely reasonable, totally normal. In fact, i'd
say maybe even a little bit younger, that depth perception
comes in and there is an element of risk, but
it's developmentally appropriate and there's a benefit to them experiencing
the risk because they learn how to navigate their environment effectively.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Risky play in our context today means that the child
can identify that there is a risk, or there is
a challenge, or there is something hazardous, and they've got
the cognitive capacity to decide on their course of action.
All right, They're the two things that are critical here.
So you asked about matches before, I would say that
(03:27):
a three year old probably doesn't really have the cognitive
capacity to fully understand and comprehend what might happen. If
they're able to light that match in the first place,
they could burn the house down, they could set the
forest on fire. That would be hazardous. But a seven
year old they can, and I would say absolutely, let
your seven year old play with matches. Doesn't mean that
they're going to do it completely unsupervised. There needs to
(03:49):
be an appropriate level of monitoring, but you can step
away and let them have that fun. Some other examples
maybe using a knife to cut the orange or the apple,
or the chicken for dinner, that kind of thing. I
should note here using a blunt knife is far more
dangerous than using a very sharp knife. So with a
(04:11):
really sharp knife, yes, if it cuts you, it's going
to do some serious damage. But the reality is sharp
knives don't tend to cut people. They just cut the
thing they're supposed to be cutting. Whereas with a blunt
knife you have to push harder, it takes a lot
more force, it doesn't grip as well, and so the
knife might slip off, and that's when you're much more
likely to get cut or accidentally stab yourself for somebody
(04:32):
else with a blunt knife. So sharp knives are safer
than blunt knives.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Isn't it interesting?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Interesting?
Speaker 3 (04:40):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Other examples of risky play Kylie playing with dangerous tools, hammering, nailing,
getting the saw out, and chopping the tree down because
Dad can't climb up high enough in the tree, so
he sends the nine year up to do it instead.
You're not laughing at that. That was meant to be
a really funny joke.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Well, after you fell off the roof, I'm not.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
So yeah, okay, fair enough, but well, things with height,
things with speed, things where you could slap it if
you fall over. They're the kinds of things that we're
talking about with risky play.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
So our children who enjoy climbing on top of the
roof at night to watch the start.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Yes, great, great, great, great great great.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Let me tell you why this is a study.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
So the overall four year old who decided she wanted
to walk to her friend's house that was eight kill
a meters away, that.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Was not okay.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
And we're so glad that the policeman who picked her
up on the street that day was one.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Of our friends.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
It's funny how like if you don't lock the front
door and you've got little kids, they can sneak out
and they will just try to go places. We learned
that lesson and it was a valuable lesson. Thank you
for reminding me. This is a synthesis of a whole
lot of studies. So I'm going to share one study
that they refer to. In this study, children in an
experimental group that were exposed to a fourteen week risky
(05:54):
play intervention. That is, they were encouraged to do rough
and tumble play, or play with dane elements or tools,
or speed or heights, or even be in a situation
where they could disappear from the supervision of adults or
get lost.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Kids who pray, so I should be applauded for my
four year old kids.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
She's always been pretty resilient and a good problem solver.
Kids who were involved in a fourteen I can't even
speak now in a fourteen week risky play intervention improve
their risk detection, improve their competence, They increased their self esteem,
and they decreased their conflict sensitivity relative to their pre
intervention performance, as well as when they were compared to
a control group that didn't do the risky play intervention
(06:33):
at all. What this essentially says, and there's another study
across sectional study compared children with and without ready access
to unsupervised outdoor play opportunities and found more developed motor skills,
improved social behavior, greater independence, and a better capacity for
conflict resolution for the kids that were doing the risky play. Overall,
we end up with more self esteem. Kids just do
(06:54):
better when their parents let them do things that are
dangerous and, as I've been saying on the podcast, year
could potentially land them in hospital if things go wrong.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
I remember in one of the opening scenes of Parental Guidance,
one of the parents walked outside to offer their children
some afternoon tea. Yeah, and here is her son. He
has literally scaled the street light outside their house and
he was at the very top and she just looked
up and she said, did you want guacamole for afternoon tea?
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
He said, yeah, sure mom. It was like she didn't
even flinch.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Really happy kids, really well adjusted, doing really really well.
In fact, they ended up winning Parental Guidance. The parents
who let their kids literally climb the lamp poles in
the street after the break We're going to share more
about what this risky play looks like and some studies
that can help you feel better about letting the kids
go a little crazy. Okay, Kylie. There's a whole lot
(07:57):
of research around this. It's a provocative topic. We like
to bubble wrap and cotton wooler kids. We want them
to be safe. I want to share a couple of
studies that literally as I was reading through this paper
that we will linked to in the show notes. The
paper itself is called what is the Relationship between Risky
Outdoor Play and Health in Children? A Systematic Review. There's
(08:19):
about fifteen researchers that have worked on this thing, and
a couple of times, not only did I underline what
I was reading, but I also wrote the word wow
in the margins because I was so blown away by
what it showed. Let me highlight a couple of things.
First of all, risky play does involve some risk. It
(08:40):
is possible that your child may end up with a
fractured elbow humorous phibia TVA.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Or you will because you rescue them or attempt to
rescue them.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
There is a chance that there'll be cuts and scratches
and bruises, somebody might injure themselves.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Okay, that's the very idea of it. Though, then did.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Injure in yourself become such a big deal.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
I mean, when we were kids, it was so exciting
to walk in and see that somebody had a passed
on their arms.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Was like, wow, the superhero in the classroom. Everybody wanted
to know.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
You one of our daughters has fallen off. Let's call
it monkey bars. It was a rail that she was
swinging on like a monkey bar. She broke her arm,
same daughter a few years later on a trapeze when
we were on a holiday in Bali and fractured her
arm there as well.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Oh, the story is way better than that.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yeah, well, I'm mind full of time.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
But why don't you feel like she was trying to
do the greatest Showman trapez act where you pass like
you go from your trapeze and you get caught by
someone else.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Yeah, so you're upside down and you put your arms
out and you flip off yours and jump into the
arms of somebody else on the other trapeze.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Well, the other one just happened to be some muscular,
very very attractive young man that she was so excited
he was going to catch her, and in the flurry
of trying to do the trick, she forgot everything.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
Yeah yeah, and she fractured her.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Worst thing is we didn't know it was broken, and
she got up there and tried it again, and fortunately
she didn't make the catch again, but I mean, it
could have been terrible. And then we flew home that
night not knowing that she had a broken arm. And
the following week she played netball not knowing she had
a broken arm. And after the netball game she was like,
my arm really hurts, and we're like, well, we've already
had an X ray, nothing had shown up, but this
(10:21):
time it did show up. Anyway, I digress. Great story.
I'm glad you shed that extra detailed made us. Guys,
we've got a child who's walked away down the street
at four and now we've got a child who's flown
home from Bali with a broken arm and we didn't
know for a week. You're making this making this look
really bad. I want to share a couple of wow
moments from this particular paper, because this is a doctor's
(10:43):
desk episode and we do have to talk about the science. Okay, Kylie,
So here's what we know. Kids spend less time outdoors
and less time in unstructured play, and they have more
time in adult structured activities now than they ever have
in history because parents are keeping their kids inside and
keeping an eye on them. And what that's led to
(11:04):
is that access to risky outdoor play has diminished, and
as a result, kids are less interested in playing at playgrounds,
less interested in playing outside, and more oriented towards just
playing it safe and staying near their parents. This is
working against what's in the best interests of kids, but
it works really well for parents, right because we feel safe,
(11:26):
they're right here beside us. We can see what they're doing.
They're on the carpet in the living room, and the
screen is keeping them quiet.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Yeah, but we're also more exhausted than we've ever been
because we have to. We feel like we have to
take care of our kids twenty four seven. We have
to be in their space. We don't have the cognitive
psychological space that we once had because our children are
always there. We're not allowing them to be their own
person and to experience life in a way that helps
(11:56):
them to grow and problem solve on their own.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah, it's interesting, like there's two things both working against
kids being outdoors and maybe more like you said, we're
so busy, but we're also really worried about them. And
then there's just the fact that inside is so convenient
and it's so enticing, so enticing. I think that it imitates,
it imitates what the real world provides. Not that's the
(12:21):
wrong word.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
It supports.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
It makes kids feel like their needs are being met
better than the like instant gratification, instant reward, cheap dopamine,
rather than going out and having to build that treehouse
or ride up that hill or do those hard things.
There's just one more thing that I really wanted to highlight.
I mean, I could go on and on. There's so
much in this study, but one thing in particular really
(12:46):
caught me, and that was this one study by a
researcher called Ruby Davies showed that fracture frequency and severity
is not related to the height of playground equipment. That is, fractures,
which count for forty two percent of playground fractures, we're
(13:06):
just as likely to occur at low heights as they
were above that mark. In fact, fifty four percent are
at low heights forty six percent are at high heights. Now,
it might just be that more kids are hanging around
at low levels, but most of the fractures are occurring at.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Low levels, not at high levels.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
So we're trying to keep our kids low to the ground.
We're trying to keep them safe, but they can still
get hurt there, and they're finding the playgrounds boring and
they're looking for other things to do. Anyway, overall, this
is a really clear picture. Our kids need risky play.
It benefits them. Here's the conclusion. Specifically, play where children
(13:50):
can disappear or get lost and risky play supportive environments
are positively associated with physical activity and social health and
negative associated with sedentary behavior. Play at height not related
to fracture frequency or severity. Engaging in rough and tumble
play doesn't increase aggression, and it's associated with increased social
(14:13):
competence for boys and popular kids. However, the results are
a bit mixed for other kids, and there's also an
indication that risky play is supportive of playtime, social interactions, creativity,
and resilience.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
Case closed.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
The Happy Families podcast is produced by Justin Rowland from
Bridge Media. If you'd like more information, and more resources
to make your family happier. Visit us at happy families
dot com dot au
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