As parents, it’s natural to want to keep our children safe. We hold their hands on stairs, say “Be careful!” as they climb, and flinch when they run too fast or jump too far. But what if stepping back just a little and allows safe, supervised risk?
Recent research suggests that risky play is not just a fun part of childhood—it’s a vital part of helping kids build emotional regulation, social skills, and resilience.
(If play is something you want to dive into, scroll to the bottom to listen to some of our podcast episodes or join The Reflective Parent Club to get more support)
What Is Risky Play?
Risky play is any kind of play where there’s a chance of physical challenge or uncertainty. This includes activities like climbing trees, jumping from heights, moving quickly (like running or biking), rough-and-tumble play, and exploring new environments without direct adult guidance.
According to Sandseter et al. (2021), risky play gives children opportunities to experience thrill and excitement while also testing their limits, learning to assess danger, and figuring out how to manage their emotions during uncertain moments. These are crucial developmental tasks that children can’t fully learn in controlled, overly safe environments.
Another recent study by Brussoni et al. (2023) offers an evolutionary lens: children are biologically wired to seek out certain kinds of challenging play, which helps them learn how to navigate fear, recover from stress, and build confidence in their ability to handle life’s challenges.
What Did the Studies Look At?
To better understand the value of risky play, researchers conducted two different studies, each with a unique approach.
The first study by Sandseter et al. (2021) observed children aged 3–5 years in an outdoor preschool in Norway. Over the course of a year, researchers tracked how often the children engaged in risky play during free outdoor time and how their social behaviors, such as cooperation, helping, and aggression—developed over time.
The second study, by Brussoni et al. (2023), took a broader look. The researchers reviewed multiple studies through an evolutionary psychology framework to explore how risky play influences children’s emotion regulation, social functioning, and physical health. Rather than observing children directly, they analyzed existing research to highlight the core emotional and behavioral outcomes of risky play across childhood.
What Did They Find?
In the Norwegian outdoor preschool study, the findings were clear: more frequent engagement in risky play was linked to an increase in prosocial behavior. In other words, children who spent more time climbing, balancing, and testing their limits became more likely to comfort a friend, take turns, and cooperate with others.
Importantly, the researchers found no increase in aggressive behavior among these children. This counters a common fear many parents have that physical or high-energy play will make their children more aggressive. Instead, risky play gave children a safe, natural space to practice communication, conflict resolution, and empathy.
The Brussoni et al. study added a deeper perspective: risky play is not just about moment-to-moment excitement, it actually trains the brain and body to respond more calmly to stress. By voluntarily engaging in activities that evoke fear or challenge (like jumping from a height or navigating a balance beam), children activate and recover from stress responses, which helps them become more emotionally resilient over time.
This study also found that restricting risky play may contribute to higher anxiety levels, poorer self-regulation, and limited social problem-solving skills. The absence of opportunities to practice managing fear and uncertainty in childhood can make it harder for children to cope with emotional challenges later on.
What Does This Mean for Parents?
Both studies point to the same conclusion: risky play is essential for healthy emotional development. When children are allowed to take age-appropriate risks in play, they’re not just building muscles, they’re building emotional strength, self-confidence, and important social skills.
Here’s how you can support risky play in everyday life:
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Create opportunities for your child to engage in unstructured outdoor play. Parks, wooded areas, and backyards are perfect for climbing, running, or exploring.
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Resist the urge to intervene too quickly. Let your child take the lead, assess danger, and try again. Supervise closely, but try not to hover.
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Talk about emotions during play. If your child feels scared on a climbing structure, acknowledge it: “It’s okay to feel nervous! What do you want to try next?”
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Embrace bumps and falls as learning. Scraped knees and small stumbles are part of how children learn about their bodies and limits—and how they grow braver.
It’s natural to want to keep your child safe. But the safest children aren’t the ones who avoid every challenge—they’re the ones who learn to face those challenges with confidence, emotional control, and trust in themselves.
So the next time your child starts to climb higher than you’re comfortable with, pause and remember: this might just be how they’re learning to handle life’s ups and downs—one branch, one jump, and one brave step at a time.
Listen to episodes of The Reflective Parenting Podcast that are related to this topic:
- I wish I were a more playful parent with Dr. Cindy Hovington (Apple, Spotify)
- Supporting emotional development through play with Dr. Tina Payne Bryson (Apple, Spotify)
- Creating lasting memories with your child with Dr. Cindy Hovington (Apple, Spotify)
- Preparing your child for preschool using play (Apple, Spotify)
Sources:
Sandseter, E. B. H., Hagen, T. L., Moser, T., & Mikkelsen, E. N. (2021). Risky play and social behaviours among peers in an outdoor preschool. Child Indicators Research, 14, 1985–2004. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-021-09804-5
Brussoni, M., Olsen, L. L., Pike, I., & Sleet, D. A. (2023). Risky play in children’s emotion regulation, social functioning, and physical health: An evolutionary approach. Journal of Child and Adolescent Health Psychology.
