ReviewInternational journal of environmental research and public health2012
Risky play and children's safety: balancing priorities for optimal child development.
Review in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 80 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
80 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- "Children are precious cargo; we don't let them take any risks!": Hearing from adults on safety and risk in children's active play in schools: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Pooled it
- Environmental and practice factors associated with children's device-measured physical activity and sedentary time in early childhood education and care centres: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Pooled it
- "All the fun stuff, the teachers say, 'that's dangerous!'" Hearing from children on safety and risk in active play in schools: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Pooled it
- Children and Urban Green Infrastructure in the Digital Age: A Systematic Literature Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Systematic review of the correlates of outdoor play and time among children aged 3-12 years.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2021Pooled it
- What Is the Relationship between the Neighbourhood Built Environment and Time Spent in Outdoor Play? A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Don't take down the monkey bars: Rapid systematic review of playground-related injuries.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2019Pooled it
- Parental Correlates of Outdoor Play in Boys and Girls Aged 0 to 12-A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- What is the Relationship between Risky Outdoor Play and Health in Children? A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2015Pooled it
- Effectiveness of a standardised and interactive intervention to prevent preschooler unintentional injury in rural China: a cluster randomised controlled trial.BMJ global health · 2025Trial
- Evaluation of the Web-Based OutsidePlay-ECE Intervention to Influence Early Childhood Educators' Attitudes and Supportive Behaviors Toward Outdoor Play: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Trial
- Impact of scheduling multiple outdoor free-play periods in childcare on child moderate-to-vigorous physical activity: a cluster randomised trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2018Trial
- Rates of serious injury from falls in children and adolescents: 10-year retrospective review of data from Ontario, Canada.Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention · 2026Article
- Overprotective parenting and preschoolers' physical activity and screen time: cross-sectional findings from the DAGIS survey.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2026Article
- Prospective acceptability, feasibility and outcomes of a primary school-led outdoor play intervention for young children.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Outdoor play and risk in kids: a cross-sectional study.Archives of disease in childhood · 2026Article
- Mechanisms and Severity of Injuries in Infants and Children <2 Years: A Retrospective Analysis over 30 Years in a European Urban Level 1 Trauma Center.Pediatric reports · 2026Article
- Facilitators and barriers to adventurous play in British preschool-aged children: cross-sectional findings from the British Preschool Children's Play Survey.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Parental perceptions of risky play and preschooler's motor creativity: mastery motivation as mediator and gender as moderator.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Long-term trends in injury-related mortality among children and adolescents: a 32-year study in a central urban district of Shanghai, 1993-2024.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Injury prevention plays a key role in keeping children safe, but emerging research suggests that imposing too many restrictions on children's outdoor risky play hinders their development. We explore the relationship between child development, play, and conceptions of risk taking with the aim of informing child injury prevention. Generational trends indicate children's diminishing engagement in outdoor play is influenced by parental and societal concerns. We outline the importance of play as a necessary ingredient for healthy child development and review the evidence for arguments supporting the need for outdoor risky play, including: (1) children have a natural propensity towards risky play; and, (2) keeping children safe involves letting them take and manage risks. Literature from many disciplines supports the notion that safety efforts should be balanced with opportunities for child development through outdoor risky play. New avenues for investigation and action are emerging seeking optimal strategies for keeping children "as safe as necessary," not "as safe as possible." This paradigm shift represents a potential for epistemological growth as well as cross-disciplinary collaboration to foster optimal child development while preserving children's safety.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.