Can anyone help me assess the risk in physical development activities?

Question

What is the importance of not being over protective?

Answer 1

Let me start by saying children should never be put at risk and young children need to be supervised. However, children learn by doing. if we never let them try to do something beecause it makes us anxious, they would all still be in their cribs. Children need to be supervised and if they are trying to do something truly beyond their reach, then someone needs to be close to them. Parents should not put children on play equipment that they cannot reach on their own. For example, I have seen parents hold children up to reach the climbing ladder that they then swing across from one rung to another. If they cannot reach up to get on the equipment themselves, they are too high up and risk injury if they fall. children will go through bumps and scrapes, and even the occaisional broken bone. They heal and move on and they learn a sense of accomplishment when they can climb higher or swing harded than they could in the past.

Answer 2

The children become too anxious and they are not willing to try anything for themselves.

I'm not saying that they should be aloud to run wild - there should be supervision to make sure they are safe. If you are too overprotective though they will become scared and not learn the skill.

For instance a child is learning to walk they try walking on the floor that works fine they then go out on to the footpath/pavement - without shoes on (with an adult to watch them) if they are walking ok then all the parent really has to do is watch, if however they start heading out towards the cars or there is glass that is when the parent should intervene as that is going harm them badly as it may cause a cut foot or cause them to get hit by a car.

Answer 3

If you continuously wrap kids in 'cotton wool' they are not able to develop reasoning related to danger by themselves. Normal development is only acquired through play and the learning of being able to risk assess by oneself. However, you cannot subject a child to situations that are blatantly dangerous, however, rough and tumble in a conducive , appropriate environment that allows children to assess and experience potentially harmful situations (not fatal or very dangerous or harmful that actually hurts the child),  so that they can learn to keep themselves safe and have the ability to use judgement based on past experience.

Answer 4

With todays Nanny state you can't f**t with out breaking some Health and Safety ruling.  Falling from a tree etc made me be more careful or I kept my a** out of the tree.  Of course you have to be careful but life is full of pitfalls and hazards and although you want to keep people from dangerous situations, it does happen and people learn from it.