Free range kids grow the best

Kristen Hamling Photo/File

When my sons come home from school, a play date, sports or an excursion, clean and dry then I am disappointed. The muddier and wetter they come home the happier I am, if there are bloody knees and bruised shins then I am delighted. "Good old fashioned" fun is lacking nowadays in my opinion, which is why groups like Keas (part of Scouts) is so important. Let me elucidate.

I have been concerned for some time about the impact of our risk adverse society on our children's development. Nowadays, fewer children walk to school on their own, or to a friend's house or bike to their soccer game. We have become so worried about what 'could' happen to our children we don't let them out of our sight.

Concerned with unnecessary hyper-vigilance in raising children, a New York mother came up with the idea of "free range kids". After receiving so much criticism for allowing her 9yo son to travel the 'subway' alone the mother wanted to remind people children are more resourceful and capable than we give them credit for. So she started the "free range kids" movement - check it out www.freerangekids.com.

Researchers at Auckland University of Technology are now investigating the benefits of "free-range kids", finding inspiration in an Auckland primary school (Swanson). After a failed attempt to install new playground equipment - due to high costs, stifling safety regulations, and a playground that was so boring children didn't want to play there - the principal came up with the idea of free play.

He noticed the children delighted more in playing with the debris of the dismantled equipment. Old tyres and a fire hose were added, and it was named the "loose parts pit", and the children were free to play and create whatever they wanted. Free play extended into bikes, scooters and skateboards being allowed in recess, playing bullrush, climbing trees, and creating mudslides.

The principal also asked teachers to stop saying no, if a student climbed a tree then no one said a thing. The adults were removed from playground duty. Children were left to their own devices. The results surprised everyone.

There was less bullying, less vandalism and fewer injuries. The principal attributed this to free play, saying that when kids are engaged in what they're doing they don't want to interrupt their play to get a teacher. If they had an altercation or grazed a knee then they'd rather sort it out themselves as quickly as possible so they can carry on. Children became self-occupied and self-governing.

According to the principal, leaving children alone to use their imagination, manage their risk and create their own fun, teaches them to be independent and self-directed. By letting them go "free range" they learn to be adventurous and resourceful - using creativity and curiosity to guide their play.

Ultimately this allows children to learn in the best way - trial and error. By getting in there and giving it a go, learning from mistakes, they grow confidence and competence - which contributes to their growth mindset.

I would much rather my child tests himself on a scooter, climbing a tree or in a game of bullrush than behind the wheel of a car at 18. Children are smart, they don't want to hurt themselves and will manage their own risk. Not giving them the opportunity when they are younger to learn all these things in free play is far riskier, in my opinion, than letting them do this when they are older.

And so I come back to my son's local Kea group. There are so few places for kids to be "free-range" nowadays and be given the opportunity for free play. Wet, muddy, sometimes risky, novel, outdoors and creative free play. I think free play is slowly dying, with children being scheduled within an inch of their lives. They need time just to be ... to be children, to be adventurers, to be healers, to be mediators, to be friends, to be heroes and to be hurt and disappointed. I have sat back and watched the children play at Keas and I see all of these wonderful things happening there.

So when my son has come back from Keas wet, muddy, a bit bruised and cold from the winter's night air, I feel a deep sense of gratitude.

Gratitude to the brilliant fathers who head the group and allow the children the time for free play and to be, for a wee while, "free range kids".

A registered psychologist with a masters in applied psychology, Wanganui mother-of-two Kristen Hamling is studying for a PhD in positive psychology at Auckland University of Technology.