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Seeing Risk As a Benefit

by Margie Carter
May/June 2014
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Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/seeing-risk--as-a-benefit/5021727/

“An environment that is as safe as possible, where all possible sources of risk of harm are removed, is actually an unsafe environment because it offers ­little value in terms of play and learning and denies children the necessary experience to develop and practice the skills to be safe.”
Helen Tovy (2014)

Reading Helen Tovy was a breath of fresh air for me. Her writing on the value of risk taking for young children is very compelling, especially for those of us in the United States who are swimming in a culture of fear and litigation. In fact, if you search ‘risk taking in early childhood’ on the web, you will see that most of its advocates are from outside the United States. Across the globe, north and south, early years educators, and in some cases governments such as those in the U.K., seem to have sorted out understandings we in the United States still struggle with. They make clear distinctions between the ideas of hazards and risks, and recognize that the well being and healthy development of children involves offering them both physical and intellectual challenges. They focus on the risks that are worth taking, not just the ones that need eliminating, ...

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