Risk is part of everyday life – from infancy through adulthood. Effective risk management involves numerous skills that develop over time. In order to navigate risks effectively, children need to learn to assess risk, think about the risk critically, create solutions, implement them, and evaluate how their decisions worked out in the end.
In other words, learning to navigate risks requires the opportunity to encounter risks and work through them. Here are a few additional things that children learn or develop during risk-taking activities:
- Balance, physical strength, and coordination of movements
- Using materials appropriately and safely
- Self-regulation, patience, and impulse control
- Perseverance, determination, and resilience
- Collaboration and cooperation skills
- Bonding with peers
- Listening and respect for others
- Practice reading body language of others
- Creativity and ingenuity
- Problem solving and curiosity (What will happen if…?)
- Decision making
- Learning from mistakes – adjusting actions in the future
- Understanding of cause and effect
- Confidence, self–esteem, and belief in their abilities
- Recognize the limits of their capabilities
- Opportunities to push the limits of their capabilities
Were any of these skills on your list of things that you remember learning from your risk taking activities?
For the main article Children and Risk, CLICK HERE
For the article Encouraging Risk in the Classroom, CLICK HERE
For the article Big Body Play, CLICK HERE
For the article Director’s Corner: Managing Risk, CLICK HERE
