The Importance Of Non-Structured Play In Children

From an early age, a child’s life is managed by his or her parents. The level of management varies from parent to parent, but typically parents have a control over how the child spends his or her free time and the activities that they partake in. It is common that as the child matures the management decreases, allowing the child to gain independence by making decisions on their own. However, throughout the last decade, a culture of fear has been developing and becoming the new norm in many communities. This atmosphere of fear has led to a decrease in the non-structured outdoor play and an increase in level dependence that the child has towards the parents (Little, 2015). Exposure to the natural environment can be limited or encouraged by the parents. The term …show more content…
This type of play often exposes children to risk-taking behavior that is important for development (Little, 2015). Non-structured play allows children to develop a stronger sense of self-worth along with an awareness of others and their surroundings (Ridgers et al., 2012). Some parents did not fear the outdoors, rather they feared the risk-taking behavior that occurs when children are playing in an unpredictable environment. After interviewing many parents, Little learned that the common fears among parents seemed to be the fear of abduction, risk of injury, and heavy traffic. The majority of the parents also admitted that the fears they had were irrational (Little, 2015). Irrational parental fears may be inhibiting the development of their children; the children are not able to fully experience their natural surroundings and the development of skills that occurs in such settings. If children are not exposed to these types of situations, then they may be lacking important skills needed to become less dependent of their parents. Whether the fear is rational or irrational, it still may limit the child’s access to