Free-Range Children & Risky Play in the Forest Environment: A Vancouver island lifestyle

Growing up as a child in the 80s, there were always humans in my class with arm and leg casts or stitches somewhere on their bruised and battered bodies. By the time I was 8, I had broken my arm three times (twice on the left and once on my right). Casts were considered cool. A souvenir. My friends wrote on them, they got gross and smelly, and oh my soul, SO itchy! Who didn't want a cast? I swear, children purposely tried to hurt themselves so they had a memento to follow up their amazing near-death stories.
How did I break my arms so many times, you might wonder?
 RISKY play! But not just any kind of risky play, risky play in the 1980s!

My first broken arm was from falling out of a cherry tree in my backyard. My mom was inside cleaning the house when it happened, and I can recall hitting the ground so hard it made my head crack. No stitches, definitely a concussion, and one very broken arm.

The second time was a way cooler story! It was summer, and I was up the road at my friend's house. He had a trampoline; one of the super rare ones (Sundance), I think it was named. It was bright orange and very bouncy. We got the brilliant idea of putting the sprinkler underneath the trampoline and then covering it with dish soap, then jumping as high as we could in our bathing suits, trying to get a double bounce. (if you know, you know) Well... Epic fail and broken arm #2.

The third break happened at Elementary school in grade three. I was pretending to be Princess Laia, and my friend Jason was, of course, Luke Skywalker. We were on one of those really high, exposed metal climbers where you could squeeze through the bars and climb super fast to the top part. Jason had a thick rope which he secured to the top bar, and he was trying to pull me up through the centre of the climber. Eventually, he ran out of rope, and the knot let loose, and down I tumbled, flat onto the cement ground below (no wood chip surfaces underneath in those days). Ouch. Broken arm #3.

Looking around my grade three-four classroom, it was like a war zone. Kids in casts, stitches on eyebrows, cut lips, crutches, bruises... ahh, those were the days!
It's easy to laugh about stories like these and the millions more from adults like me in our 40s. Truth be told, we were rarely supervised, and the world was a dangerous playground in which we navigated as best we could.
Daycares weren't a huge thing in the '80s either. Often, moms stayed home or grandparents helped with us, neighbors kept an eye out, and everyone "generally knew" our whereabouts in the community.
There were also set rules: Don't go into Mrs. Smith's garden (she had the best raspberries), stay out of the swamp (quicksand) (well, not really quick sand, but that swamp claimed a boot or two of ours for sure!), and do not go in the ocean! (I lived a block from Cordova Bay beach)
As a child, I had many chores that were just part of our everyday week. My sister and I hand-washed the dishes after every dinner. She'd wash, I'd dry, or vice versa. We had to clean the bathroom, dust the knick-knacks, and, in my case, we had a wood stove, so I had to cut kindling and carry it in to stack neatly by the stove.
Outdoor play for us was considered a reward for fulfilling all our obligations. Once set free into the neighborhood, we roamed as far as we could, because if we hung around too close, our parents would surely find more work for us to do! There was no staying inside on weekends either. "Out you go, come back for lunch, then see you at dinner!" All we had to do was ride our bikes around for a while and find the abandoned bikes on someone's front lawn. Voila! Instant friends.

While not free from worry, parents were less inclined to "intensely hover" during play time, trusting that their children could navigate physical and social challenges on their own.

"Free-Range" parenting was the dominant style, with children spending hours playing outside without direct adult supervision. We roamed the neighborhood on our bikes, built forts, improvised games with what we could find, and played with children of all ages in the neighborhood surrounding us. The bigger kids (sort of) watched out for the younger kids. And, my little sister had to come with me EVERYWHERE I went. This was pretty normal for most of us.
Evolving dangers:
While our parents trusted us with more independence, new anxieties began to emerge in the mid-80s, including highly publicized cases of missing children and child abductions. In my city, it was the Michael Dunahee case that horrified every parent and child, and one that still sends shivers up my spine to this very day.
These kinds of cases, along with Blockwatch popping up everywhere, Crime Stopper commercials, and police officers visiting our classrooms talking about "stranger-danger", all slowly contributed to a culture of greater parental caution.

Side Note: There was actually a commercial that came on to local TV broadcasting saying, "It's ten o'clock! Do you know where your children are?" 

As the 1980s progressed, economic instability led many parents to believe their children would need to be more successful than their parents to maintain a middle-class lifestyle. This fueled a rise in intensive parenting to ensure children achieved a competitive edge through supervised, enriching activities.

As dual-income households became more common, the "latch-key" child, a child who let themselves into an empty house after school-emerged as a new phenomenon.

The growing availability of parenting advice books in the late 1980s reinforced the role of parents as overseers who prioritize safety and structured enrichment over structured exploration.

This gradual change in parenting styles throughout my childhood laid the groundwork for a more risk-adverse, supervised childhood that became more common in the decades that followed.

Okay, so bringing this back to outdoor play for today's child, and why childcare centres like Little Bears are so incredibly valuable to our children's overall health.
Let's simplify it:
Outside time equals exercise!
Exercise equals endorphins and dopamine!
Endorphins and dopamine lead to happiness!
Happiness means less stress, less anxiety, and less depression!
Sounds pretty simple, right?

It is simple, and this is why I so wholeheartedly believe in my soul that ALL children belong outside and in the forest! If children get used to being outside in all weather, playing outside in all seasons, and even napping outside listening to the rain falling on the roof, they will miss and crave this as they get older! They will WANT to go camping to hear that sound again! They will put on their rain jackets and splash pants to go on that hike even though it is torrential rain! Weather and season will not affect them because they have been hard-wired to adapt to their surroundings and environment.
The first five years of a child's life are a critical period for cognitive development and overall health, laying the foundational "architecture" of the brain for all future learning and wellbeing.
Time spent outdoors naturally encourages children to be more active through running, climbing, and exploring. This helps develop gross motor skills, coordination, and agility, while also combating A SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE.

Isn't that exactly what we are trying to undo? Our own sedentary lifestyles, where anything and everything we need is available at our fingertips.
Our society has largely become obese and depressed, and afraid of the elements. We hide inside when it gets cold and console our thoughts with "comfort foods" and spiced pumpkin lattes when the seasons change from summer to autumn. How many of us are truly heading to the forest every weekend with our children to hike, camp, cook over a fire, and sleep under the stars?
I can personally attest to witnessing children over the space of 4 years go from disliking the rain to absolutely loving the rain. When the new babies start with us around one year old, most have never spent a lot of time outdoors in the elements. As parents, we bundle them up, overclothe them, protect them in plastic stroller covers, and shield them from the rain. Here on Vancouver Island, if we never went outside when it was raining, we would never go outside!
At Little Bears, we go outside every day, rain or shine. Period. Our babies learn very quickly that this is normal and this is a consistent outing in their day. In September, we refer to our little baby-bears' outdoor time as the "symphony of tears", when they unite together and let us know they are uncomfortable! We start them off slowly, spending more and more time outside as they get more comfortable and adjust to their surroundings. We are not cruel; we are, in fact, the opposite. We hold them, we walk with them, we sing to them, we play with them. They are safe, they are warm, and they are wet! (Well, their muddy-buddies are wet, but they are toasty warm underneath!) Winters can be cruel here in Canada, and we are especially mindful of our Little Bears when those temperatures drop really low. The educators still take the little bears outside, but we just come in a little sooner than we would in the warmer months.

Engaging in outdoor play while it is cold and rainy offers our children a variety of developmental benefits, from enhanced sensory experiences and improved motor skills to strengthened immunity and increased resilience.

We strongly support the Scandinavian philosophy that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing, emphasizing that proper gear can make outdoor exploration possible and enjoyable in nearly any weather! 

Let's break down a few last supporting pieces for outdoor risky play in a FOREST!

Risk assessment and resilience:
The dynamic and unpredictable elements of a forest, such as uneven terrain, loose rocks, and climbable trees, require children to constantly assess risk and manage uncertainty. This fosters resilience and critical thinking in ways a conventional, manicured playground cannot.

Confidence and self-esteem
When children freely choose to challenge themselves, whether by climbing a tree or jumping from a log-and succeed, they build a sense of mastery and confidence in their own abilities. This is a child-led process, reinforcing their self-perceived skills.

Physical Literacy:
The varied terrain builds a wide range of motor skills, coordination, and strength. Activities like climbing trees, balancing on fallen logs, or moving over boulders promote agility and balance.

Emotional regulation:
Navigating the mix of exhilaration and fear during risky play helps children experiment with and manage powerful emotions. This can reduce the risk of anxiety and improve coping strategies later in life. games and problem-solve together without explicit adult direction.

Problem solving and creativity: 
A forest offers endless possibilities for unstructured play using "loose parts" like sticks, rocks, and mud. This encourages imaginative, child-led activities where children must invent.

Sensory stimulation:
A forest provides a rich sensory environment that engages all of a child's senses, unlike many indoor or constructed play spaces. (such as those on rooftops or parking lots)

Mental health:
Exposure to "green spaces" has been shown to reduce stress, improve mood, and decrease symptoms of ADHD. Children with Autism often find sensory relief and often feel calmer while walking through the forest.

With the growing number of studies being done on natural play spaces for children and the health benefits children have from being outdoors, I feel it is safe to conclude that most of us feel strongly that the forest offers unparalleled developmental advantages for children.
These benefits, ranging from enhanced resilience and problem solving to improved physical and mental health-are uniquely fostered by the natural environment's uncertain and stimulating nature.
It is essential to emphasize that these benefits must be balanced with effective hazard management and supportive adult supervision.
Our goal should be to keep children "as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible," empowering them to navigate challenges and build competence on their own terms.

Thank you for reading, and any comments or thoughts you may have on risky play are appreciated.
Shine on!
With Gratitude,
Lexie

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