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Anxiety, resilience and the importance of risky play
Published on Apr 02, 2018
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Anxiety, resilience and the importance of risky outdoor play
We are interested in the research that looks at reducing anxiety in children and building their resilience through opportunities to engage in risky play as we have noticed an increase in children with anxiety in our own classes.
Problem
- Increases in the number of students with anxiety
- They have inability to cope with the normal stresses of life hindered their lack of resilience.
Read slide.
Then:
We worry about our children:
Would children with anxiety develop more resilience through exploring their limits by attempting risks as they play outdoors?
Then:
We worry about our children:
Would children with anxiety develop more resilience through exploring their limits by attempting risks as they play outdoors?
Photo by docoverachiever
Problem
- Studies of preschool to adolescence children examined benefits of risky play on the overall well-being child, including reducing levels of anxiety and developing resilience
Read Slide
then:
-Studies found that repeated exposure to anxiety-provoking stimuli, such as risky play, could reduce the adverse reaction and alter the child’s perception about the experience
then:
-Studies found that repeated exposure to anxiety-provoking stimuli, such as risky play, could reduce the adverse reaction and alter the child’s perception about the experience
Photo by BLMOregon
Literature Review
Anxiety,
Resilience,
Risky Play
Anxiety
- Anxiety on the rise
- Decreases in outdoor play
- Many parents have fears regarding risk
- Wilderness can have positive effects on levels of anxiety
Slide then:- “anxiety scores risen about a standard deviation from the 1950s to the 1990s” (Twenge, 2000)
-Outdoor play has been replaced by completing school work and activities (e.g. music lessons, tutoring, sports), more time in front of a screen (Gray, 2011)
-other parents viewed resilience as important life skill learned through risky play, encouraged their children to participate in activities that involved some element of risk
-Outdoor play has been replaced by completing school work and activities (e.g. music lessons, tutoring, sports), more time in front of a screen (Gray, 2011)
-other parents viewed resilience as important life skill learned through risky play, encouraged their children to participate in activities that involved some element of risk
Photo by mripp
Resilience
- Developing resilience helps cope with anixety
- Time in nature enhances resilience
- Importance of risk for developing resilience in child development
Read this first:
-resilient children are positive, independent, enjoy novel experiences, curious, optimists, persistent, recover after stressful experiences, fewer problems with peers, higher IQ and self-esteem, and greater school enjoyment (McArdle et al., 2013
-Read point 1 and 2
then:
-Sandseter and Kennair (2011) found risky play to be an essential part of a child’s normal development
-resilient children are positive, independent, enjoy novel experiences, curious, optimists, persistent, recover after stressful experiences, fewer problems with peers, higher IQ and self-esteem, and greater school enjoyment (McArdle et al., 2013
-Read point 1 and 2
then:
-Sandseter and Kennair (2011) found risky play to be an essential part of a child’s normal development
Photo by Ethan Weil
Resilience
- Adult support in risky play to foster resilience
- Developing a growth mindset in children in an outdoor program can increase resilience
Read point 1 then:-adults in outdoors who fostered secure attachments through caring and shared appreciation of the environment had the ability to develop resilience in children.
Read point 2 then:- People with growth mindset seek out challenges as opportunities to learn, adopt new strategies, apply more effort and use self-monitoring to learn from mistakes
-combining a mindset with an outdoor adventure course can increase participants’ resilience
Read point 2 then:- People with growth mindset seek out challenges as opportunities to learn, adopt new strategies, apply more effort and use self-monitoring to learn from mistakes
-combining a mindset with an outdoor adventure course can increase participants’ resilience
Photo by Francesco Gallarotti
Risky Play
- Risky play characteristics
- Children are drawn to risky play
- Overcoming anxiety and gaining resilience through outdoor risky play
- Reducing risk has risks
-Read point 1 Then: thrilling types of play that may involve a risk of physical injury and usually occurs outdoors.
-Sandseter categorized risky play: 1) great heights, 2) great speed, 3) play with harmful tools, 4) play near dangerous elements, 5) rough-and-tumble play, and 6) play disappear or get lost
Read point 2 and 3 and 4:
-lack of risky play impedes the development of resilience and persistance when dealing with challenges which could lead to avoidance strategies and ultimately perpetuate the children’s fears
-Sandseter categorized risky play: 1) great heights, 2) great speed, 3) play with harmful tools, 4) play near dangerous elements, 5) rough-and-tumble play, and 6) play disappear or get lost
Read point 2 and 3 and 4:
-lack of risky play impedes the development of resilience and persistance when dealing with challenges which could lead to avoidance strategies and ultimately perpetuate the children’s fears
Photo by Ryan Hafey
Questions
- How does a child’s level of anxiety shift when exposed to outdoor risky play?
- Does regular exposure to risky outdoor play foster resilience in children who exhibit signs and symptoms of anxiety?
- Does a teacher acting in a supportive, caring and trusting role develop students’ level of resilience as the students engage in risky outdoor play?
Photo by Daniel Kulinski
Methodology
- Phenomenological approach to find patterns between time spent in risky play outdoors and anxiety in children.
- Critical social theory: critique lack of opportunities for children to engage in outdoor risky play
- Mixed-methods design to examine if students engaged in risky outdoor play show signs of resilience and less anxiety
Using a phenomenological approach, we are interested in finding patterns between time spent playing outdoors and the occurrences of anxiety in children.
We will use critical social theory to critique the present day lack of opportunities for children to engage in risky play.
We will use a mixed-methods design to examine if elementary-aged students engaged in risky outdoor play demonstrate signs of resilience as a protective factor against anxiety.
We will use critical social theory to critique the present day lack of opportunities for children to engage in risky play.
We will use a mixed-methods design to examine if elementary-aged students engaged in risky outdoor play demonstrate signs of resilience as a protective factor against anxiety.
Photo by -5m
Methods
- Participants: 34 4-6 year-olds in an outdoor school in Surrey
- Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) and the Resilience Scale
- Take 4 or 5 of the most anxious, least resilient children to follow up on our study
We will give both parents ad children the anxiety and resilience scales to compare
Photo by Kelly Sikkema
Methods
- Open ended interviews of these 4 or 5
- Intervention: three 45-minute sessions in an outdoor forest setting with areas that involve opportunities for risky play
Photo by brungrrl
