In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of risky play in child development. Risky play involves activities that push children’s boundaries, fostering resilience, problem-solving skills, and emotional regulation. Children engage in 4 types of risk-taking in their play: physical, social, emotional, and intellectual.

When creating policy and procedures around this topic, it is crucial to balance ensuring safety and allowing children to engage in adventurous, exploratory play.

Purpose

A thoughtful risky play policy delineates the boundaries and expectations surrounding such play and assures parents, staff, and administrators are all on the same page. This policy should:

• Enhance Learning—Exposure to manageable risks fosters problem-solving skills and creativity, promoting a deeper understanding of cause and effect.
• Mitigate Hazards—The primary role of adults in supporting risky play is hazard mitigation. This involves addressing hidden or unanticipated dangers kids might miss when taking risks.
• Ensure Health And Well-Being—Embracing risk can improve physical health and well-being as children develop strength, coordination, and spatial awareness.
• Cultivate Risk Literacy—By engaging in risky play, children learn to assess and manage risks, a crucial life skill for adulthood.

Where To Include

At Playvolution HQ, we recommend using the Three Handbook Method and adding this policy to your Operating Handbook.

Considerations

Consider addressing the following topics when creating a policy and procedures for risky play:

• Risk Assessment—To keep kids safe, programs should have a plan to identify hazards in their play environments. Such assessments should also differentiate between acceptable risks that promote learning and unacceptable risks that pose serious threats.
• Flexibility And Individualization—Recognizing and accommodating children’s unique needs and preferences is essential. Risky play should be personalized based on a child’s temperament and developmental stage rather than chronological age.
• Documentation And Reflection—Keeping records of risky play activities, incidents, and observations and then reviewing, reflecting, and acting on those records is essential.
• Open Communication—It is beneficial to communicate the value of risky play to parents during enrollment and keep them informed about activities and safety measures as time passes. It helps them buy into a type of play they may have misgivings about.

Real-World Risky Play Policies

NOTE: The following samples are real-world examples relating to this post’s topic and are provided as a reference for creating your own policies and procedures. Sharing them here is not a recommendation of their content.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Sample Risky Play Policy

This sample policy for the fictitious Playvolution Child Care Institute incorporates the above considerations and uses our recommended 5 policy headings. It is only intended as a guideline. Your policy and procedures relating to this topic should be unique to your program.

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