Department of Education, University of Humanistic Studies, 3512 HD Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Department of Movement & Sport Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussel, Belgium.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Nov 7;20(22):7032. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20227032.
Children's risky play opportunities depend on supervising adults' attitudes and the play environment. The possibilities to engage in risk-taking outdoor play for children have seriously decreased over the last few decades, due to safety concerns and adults' preoccupation with protection. In response to this shift, research has increasingly focused on influencing factors on professional attitudes toward risk-taking in children's play. However, children's perspective on risky play is underrepresented in the recent literature. This study generates awareness of children's risky play preferences and interests to help professional caretakers hone their facilitating role. We explored children's notions of risk and challenge in play during a loose parts intervention stimulating risky play and facilitated by after-school childcare practitioners. A thematic analysis examined observations, informal conversations, and roundtable talks with children about their risky play experiences. Children describe their risk-taking in play as experimental and daring. The findings report on children's general views on risky play, their play experiences with loose parts, their real-life risky play experiences, and their opinions on the role of practitioners. By relating the results to risky play research and self-determination theory, this study offers insight into children's innate needs. Taking risks on their own terms gives children a sense of self-confidence and mastery, and forces them into new relationships with other children and guiding adults. Consequently, children fulfill the three universal needs of self-determination theory: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
儿童的冒险游戏机会取决于监督成年人的态度和游戏环境。由于安全问题和成年人对保护的关注，过去几十年来，儿童进行户外冒险游戏的可能性大大减少。针对这种转变，研究越来越关注影响儿童游戏中冒险行为的专业态度的因素。然而，儿童对冒险游戏的看法在最近的文献中代表性不足。这项研究让人们意识到儿童对冒险游戏的偏好和兴趣，以帮助专业照顾者更好地发挥他们的促进作用。我们在一项松散部件干预中探索了儿童在游戏中对风险和挑战的概念，该干预激发了冒险游戏，并由课后照顾从业者提供帮助。主题分析考察了对儿童风险游戏体验的观察、非正式对话和圆桌讨论。孩子们将他们在游戏中的冒险行为描述为实验性和大胆的。研究结果报告了儿童对冒险游戏的一般看法、他们在松散部件游戏中的体验、他们在现实生活中的冒险游戏体验以及他们对从业者角色的看法。通过将结果与冒险游戏研究和自我决定理论相关联，本研究深入了解了儿童的内在需求。按照自己的条件冒险会给孩子们带来自信和掌控感，并迫使他们与其他孩子和指导成年人建立新的关系。因此，儿童满足自我决定理论的三个普遍需求：自主性、能力和关联性。
