Young children have a limited understanding of the risks surrounding them: they fall over, bang their heads, scrape their knees and worse. Parents and practitioners can try to create a risk-free environment, but this can reduce children's chances to to learn about risk and how to judge new situations.
This bestselling guide shows how adults can share their own skills with young children to promote understanding of safety in a stimulating way. It covers key areas such as: putting risk into perspective; how children learn to take care of themselves; supporting children after accidents and avoiding preventable accidents; and working in partnership with parents. This second edition has been fully updated to reflect current practice, featuring new material on risk-benefit analysis and the importance of outdoor experiences.
Too Safe for Their Own Good? will support any practitioner working with children under the age of 8 with the guidance they need to offer enough challenge to benefit children, and to avoid over-protection or careless practice.