Let them climb!

Why climbing higher, moving faster, and figuring things out matter in childhood.

Watch a child climb a tree and there is often a moment when they pause. The next branch is higher than expected. They look down, adjust their footing, and decide whether to continue. An adult nearby may feel the immediate urge to say, Careful. But something important is happening in that pause. The child is assessing distance, testing balance, considering their own abilities, and making a decision. What looks like simple play is actually a sophisticated exercise in physical judgment and problem-solving.

Researchers who study risky play are increasingly interested in moments like these. Their work suggests that children benefit from opportunities to encounter manageable physical challenges—and that eliminating too much uncertainty from childhood may also remove opportunities to develop confidence, judgment, and physical competence.

Risk Isn't the Same as Danger

Norwegian researcher Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter helped establish the modern framework for risky play. Her research identified several common forms, including climbing to height, moving at speed, using tools, rough-and-tumble play, and exploring beyond immediate adult oversight. The defining characteristic isn't recklessness. It's uncertainty.

A useful distinction is between a risk and a hazard. A risk is something a child can see, consider, and respond to: Can I balance across this log? Is that branch strong enough? How high am I comfortable climbing? A hazard is something a child cannot reasonably recognize or manage, such as an unstable structure or dangerous water conditions. Good outdoor education doesn't ignore safety. Adults identify hazards, understand children's developmental abilities, establish boundaries, and supervise carefully. But within those boundaries, children need some room to make decisions for themselves.

In 2024, the Canadian Paediatric Society issued a position statement supporting developmentally appropriate outdoor risky play. The authors concluded that appropriate risk-taking can contribute to healthy childhood development while emphasizing that adults still have a responsibility to protect children from serious hazards.

The goal isn't a dangerous childhood. It's a childhood that is safe enough to explore.

Children Learn What Their Bodies Can Do

Natural environments are particularly good at providing this kind of learning because they aren't standardized. Sand shifts. Rocks are uneven. Logs have different widths. Hills have different slopes. Children have to continually adjust their bodies and their decisions. Research by Norwegian scientist Ingunn Fjørtoft found that kindergarten-aged children who regularly played in a natural landscape showed improvements in motor fitness, particularly balance and coordination. A systematic review by Mariana Brussoni and colleagues also found positive associations between certain forms of risky outdoor play and physical activity, social health, and development, although the researchers noted that the quality of evidence varied across studies. This is where risky play starts to feel familiar to anyone who surfs.

You cannot learn to surf entirely through instruction. Eventually you have to enter the water. You learn how your body responds to the board, how the ocean moves beneath you, and where your limits are. With experience, something that initially felt overwhelming becomes manageable.

Young children are doing a simpler version of the same thing when they climb, balance, jump, and navigate uneven terrain. They are building a physical understanding of themselves in relation to the world.

Learning to Handle Uncertainty

Risky play may also have psychological value. Sandseter and psychologist Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair have proposed that manageable experiences of fear and uncertainty during childhood may help children learn to regulate those feelings. The evidence here is still developing, and it would be an overstatement to claim that climbing trees prevents anxiety. But the underlying idea is compelling: children can encounter something that feels difficult, approach it at their own pace, and gradually discover that they can manage it. Importantly, the goal isn't to create fearless children.

A child who climbs three feet and decides they have gone high enough is making a judgment. Another child may comfortably climb higher. Both are learning where their bodies are in space and what level of challenge feels manageable. Confidence isn't created by an adult standing below saying, You can do it. It develops when a child thinks, I wasn't sure I could do that—and then I did.

The Adult's Job Changes

Supporting risky play doesn't mean educators stand back and hope for the best. It requires knowledgeable adults who understand children, environments, and developmental abilities. Sometimes intervention is necessary. Other times, the better response is helping a child notice what matters. Instead of automatically saying Be careful, an educator might say, That branch is wet. What do you notice? Or, What's your plan for getting down? The difference is subtle but important. The adult is still supporting safety, but the child is doing some of the thinking.

Over time, children begin asking those questions themselves. That is ultimately what we want.

Research

Sandseter, E. B. H. (2009). Characteristics of Risky Play. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 9(1), 3–21.

Brussoni, M., et al. (2015). What Is the Relationship Between Risky Outdoor Play and Health in Children? A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(6), 6423–6454.

Fjørtoft, I. (2001). The Natural Environment as a Playground for Children: The Impact of Outdoor Play Activities in Pre-Primary School Children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 29, 111–117.

Sandseter, E. B. H., & Kennair, L. E. O. (2011). Children's Risky Play from an Evolutionary Perspective: The Anti-Phobic Effects of Thrilling Experiences. Evolutionary Psychology, 9(2), 257–284.

Beaulieu, E., & Beno, S. (2024). Healthy Childhood Development Through Outdoor Risky Play: Navigating the Balance With Injury Prevention. Paediatrics & Child Health, 29(4), 255–261.