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REFLECTION & PRACTICE

What happens when children engage in risky play?

Our instinct is often to protect children by stepping in. But when we pause, stay close, and leave room for a manageable challenge, children learn to trust their bodies, assess risk, and discover what they can do.

Educators discuss how climbing, building fires, using tools, and other Land-based experiences can help children develop confidence and practical judgment. They invite adults to distinguish between supporting safety and removing every challenge.

Risky play includes experiences that feel exciting, uncertain, or challenging. On the Land, a child might balance on a log, move through deep snow, climb a tree, or learn to use a tool.

These moments allow children to test their abilities and make decisions. A child notices whether the ground is slippery, adjusts their footing, or decides they have climbed high enough.

Risky play is not reckless play. Adults still observe the environment, remove hazards, and remain ready to help. The shift is in allowing children to manage challenges they can see and understand.

Sometimes support sounds like:

“I’m nearby.”

“How does that feel?”

“What is your plan?”

A brief pause before stepping in can tell a child: I see what you are doing, and I trust you to think.

Try it in Your Practice: Pause Before Stepping In

The next time a child begins something challenging, take one breath before responding.

Ask yourself:

  • Is this a hazard the child cannot recognize, or a challenge they may be able to manage?
  • Does the child appear focused and in control?
  • Can I move closer without taking over?

If support is needed, try a question instead of “Be careful”:

  • “How steady does that feel?”
  • “Where will your foot go next?”
  • “What could you do if it becomes slippery?”

Notice what the child does when given a little more time.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

What might become possible if you stayed close without taking over?

What did the adults around you teach you about risk?

When are you most likely to step in quickly?

Explore More Within TREES

TAKE YOUR LEARNING FURTHER

  • Fireside Chat: Relationship with Risky Play from the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada. Dawn Ottereyes, Jacqueline Bennett, and Susan McGarvey consider risky play through Indigenous perspectives, including whether “risk” is always the most useful language for children learning on the land.
  • Indigenizing Outdoor Play by V. Angela James, Chloe Dragon-Smith, and Wendy Lahey is an important grounding for understanding outdoor play through relationships with land, community, and children as capable people.
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The Training & Resources for Early Education & Schools (TREES) Network is a space for delivering and accessing culturally appropriate training, professional development, resources, communities of practice and mentorship opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous early learning professionals working with Indigenous children and families.

By coming together across communities, organizations and cultures, we can impact the bigger picture of Indigenous early education, child assessment and policy in Canada, so that Indigenous children will grow up proud of their culture and knowing that they belong.

The vision of the TREES Network is for early learning professionals to feel supported through training, resources and connections with others. The TREES Network strives to support early learning professionals to ground Indigenous children in their culture, nurturing stronger communities.

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The TREES Network supports access to culturally appropriate training and professional development for early learning professionals through the Understanding the Early Years course and Early Years Toolbox workshops. View upcoming trainings and workshops for your community through the Events Calendar.

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The TREES Network supports access to the Early Years Toolbox website, as well as access to accompanying resources through the Early Learning Library. Your access to resources is determined by your organization or community affiliation. Explore the Featured Partners page to view resources created by and in collaboration with Early Years partners.

CONNECT WITH OTHERS

To promote relationship-building and relational learning, the TREES Network provides opportunities for early learning professionals to build connections across the country. You can check out the Events Calendar to find events related to the early years, view the Interactive Map of early years services in different regions, or learn more about Supportive Circles as spaces to come together with others locally or across communities to share thoughts, ideas and support.

CREATE IMPACT

The TREES Network strives to create spaces through which we can collectively impact the bigger picture of Indigenous early learning in Canada. Learn about how Early Years sites are doing this through Early Years approach innovations, and about the important work many other organizations are doing to influence policy, curriculum, access to funding supports and program evaluation.

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