Kids need to indulge in `risky play`

London: Experts have suggested that children should indulge in some amount of risky play to learn to face danger.

They have warned that overprotecting children during the summer holidays actually put them at greater risk of harm. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has said by trying to save children from risk, parents are depriving them of the chance to learn face danger efficiently by assessing and managing it themselves. "Children just don`t get the opportunities that I had to go and explore and to roam further than the garden gate," a news channel quoted Peter Cornall of RoSPA as saying. "We get lots of children who spend lots of time during the summer inside, playing on computer games, because that`s where mum and dad think they`re safe," he said. Several schools and nurseries now have a deliberate policy of promoting active and adventurous play. Children are encouraged to engage in activities, which some nurseries would consider too risky - such as banging nails into wood, swinging on tyres and even lighting fires. Nursery manager Jill Robey said, "They`ll have bumps, bruises, cuts and scrapes, but they`re going to get those anyway. "Children need to do these activities to explore what their bodies will do, so they can learn how much they can and can`t do themselves," he added. ANI