On the Children and Nature Network website, a summary of a research study by H. Little and S. Wyver, published in the Australian Journal of Early Childhood, discusses the inability of many early childhood educators to provide the full benefits of challenging and stimulating outdoor experiences to children due to restrictive regulations and a cultural emphasis on eliminating or minimizing any physical risk.

 

Rusty Keeler, in his popular book, Adventures in Risky Play, provides numerous ideas for supporting children’s challenging and stimulating outdoor experiences…including ways to successfully work with regulators and positively engage families. He makes the case that allowing children to experience safe, appropriate risk is a gift to their healthy development (a belief reinforced by the Little and Wyver study).