News

By Rixa Evershed, Beginning School Director

When your child encounters hard things, they must learn to overcome their discomfort and take risks. One of the single most important skills they learn in Beginning School, beyond productive struggl,e is risk assessment. This skill is applied in every area of their life moving forward. Beyond physical risk is emotional risk and cognitive risk. We want children to feel comfortable figuring out how to navigate these. 

Children have a fundamental drive for autonomy. Anyone who has parented for more than five seconds has heard a child say, “No, me do!” or “I want to do it by myself!” Honoring children’s ideas and competence means that we must let them engage with risk. However, sometimes that will make your heart go from 0 to 60 in no time flat. That first time they actually accomplish what they are trying to do? That look on their face? That is everything to them. Showing children we trust them as learners builds their confidence in themselves in a way few other things can. 

Deb Curtis, early childhood educator and author, shares, “Keeping children safe is paramount to the work we do every minute when we are with children. We must always stop or prevent situations that threaten children’s well-being. But when we do intervene on behalf of children’s safety, we can do it with the understanding that life has many challenges and risks, and children deserve experiences and tools to learn to negotiate on their own. The saying, “With few risks, there are few rewards,” is very true. Learning involves risk. Relationships involve risk. Feeling competent and confident in the world requires meeting a challenge and working to overcome it.

When children are involved in a situation we think is too risky or dangerous, rather than just stopping them, we can offer alternatives that keep them safe while preserving opportunities for them to develop to their fullest potential. This work requires that we pay attention to the children’s perspectives, use our power thoughtfully, and act responsibly. We can ensure that children have a childhood where they feel exhilaration, while still being protected and supported by adults and their friends. We can support them in learning that determination pays off, and they can become competent decision makers, able to assess risks, contribute to the well-being of others, and reap the rewards of their efforts.”