Your Therapy Source Magazine for Pediatric Therapists December 2015 | Page 3

5 Tips to Support Risk Taking in Children
Do you allow children to explore enough? Risk taking
is so important in childhood. This generation of
children is so shielded from many risks that perhaps
you and I were allowed to overcome as we grew up.
Taking a risk and achieving a goal provides a child
with a strong sense of accomplishment. Remember
back to when you were young when you climbed a tall
tree, scaled a fence or rode your bicycle down a steep
hill. It feels exhilarating that you did it by yourself. So
next time a child is trying a new skill that might be a bit
risky try some of the tips before you say “stop”:
1. Observe the situation closely. See if they can do
the task safely without you interfering.
2. If you need to interfere to ensure safety can you
offer verbal suggestions instead of physical prompts?
3. It is the same theory when children are learning
any new skill assist as little as possible. Even in
situations where it may be easier for you to help in
terms of speeding up the task or peace of mind.
4. Will the child succeed better if someone else is the teacher? If you are particularly nervous
watching a child perform a certain skill, perhaps ask someone else to work on the goal ie
parent, aunt, uncle, etc.
5. Stop and make sure that you are not saying “no” due to your own fears. When children
walk along in the school or the community, are you especially fearful that they may not make it
safely to their destination? Perhaps start off small and follow quite a bit distance behind until
you are comfortable that the child arrived to the destination. In a school setting, send the child
back to class alone but maybe call the classroom to let the teacher know the child is on his/her
way. This gives the child a sense of independence. What do you do to support risky
exploration in children?

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