'Risk-averse' parents fail their children, warns head

Published on Sunday 5 July 2009 22:12

CHILDREN must be exposed to risk or they will grow into adults unable to cope with work or grown-up life, a leading headteacher has said.

Rod Grant, headmaster of Clifton Hall independent school in Edinburgh, says parents have become hugely "risk averse".

He said it was wrong to remove trees from playgrounds or diving boards from swimming pools in a misguided attempt to protect youngsters.

He said: "Today, we live in a world that is fearful. Parents have become hugely risk averse, so their children are exposed to a back garden – under supervision, of course – at best.

"My plea is that each of us is, in some way, responsible for modifying these deep-rooted fears that we all share.

"We should not place children at unnecessary risk but we must expose them to some risk.

"Otherwise, we risk their future health and safety and that is something none of us want."

He suggests youngsters should not be cocooned from danger, but allowed to explore the world.

Mr Grant said: "Childhood has never been risk-free. But if we succumb to our fears, our children may end up ill-equipped to live successfully in adulthood.

"Protecting children from the risks of trees, diving boards, escalators, uncomfortable social situations and incomplete homework assignments is almost certain to produce adults with deficits."

A culture of legal action, imported from the US, has seen a rise in unusual measures taken to protect youngsters. An Aberdeenshire primary created a special "snowball zone" last winter, so those wishing to avoid icy bombardment could avoid "danger". A Carlisle headteacher in 2004 insisted pupils wore safety goggles to play conkers, saying: "It's just being sensible. We live in a litigious society."

In the same year, Menstrie Primary in Clackmannanshire banned conkers after experts said the pastime threatened the lives of pupils who suffered severe reactions to nuts.

Abbeyfield Secondary School in Chippenham, Wiltshire, banned children playing with balls larger than a tennis ball on health and safety advice. Teachers feared the school was open to legal action from parents after a number of children suffered minor injuries caused by playtime games.

Other councils have threatened to remove roadside horse chestnut trees on the grounds that children might run into the path of traffic while collecting the chestnuts.

Suffolk County Council banned hanging baskets in case they fell on passers-by.

Mr Grant's comments were backed by child-development expert Sue Palmer who said youngsters risked becoming either bullies or bullied themselves, if not exposed to playground rough and tumble.

She said: "It's not just the workplace they won't be able to cope with as adults, it is social interaction. If they are not out there with the other kids, learning how to get along with people and make up after arguments, and take responsibility for their own actions, there's the likelihood that later on they will either become bullies or victims."

She said children needed their independence. She added: "Not only will that child grow up into an adult not able to cope. But there will be a social cost from creating people who simply don't have the resilience to bounce back from adversity."