Risky play is for toddlers too!

Like a moth to a flame, my two-year-old likes to take risks. She climbs onto our dining room table, jumps from the ottoman to the couch, and spins in circles until she falls down. My toddler brings this same enthusiasm for risk in her outdoor play as well. You might think that I have a particularly adventurous two-year-old, or that toddlers take risks because they don’t know any better.

Perhaps there’s a kernel of truth to those assumptions, at least the first, but the reality is that almost all toddlers are drawn to risky types of play. While there has been a lot of research about the importance of risky play for preschoolers and kids, risky play is important for toddlers too! In fact, toddlers experience risky play in a very similar way to older kids.

In this article I’m going to review the basics of risky play: what it is, what it isn’t, and the benefits of risky play for toddlers. Then I’ll provide a fun list of toddler appropriate risky play activities for your toddler to try at home and outdoors.