In the child’s best interest: holistic learning through risk taking in natural environments

This final chapter brings together research presented within this book on the international state of risky outdoor play by drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological model. By assembling the chapters on the state of risky outdoor play, and positioning them as immediate, local, and sociocultural influences on children’s play, this chapter concludes the first book of our two-part series. We explore the role of influential adults and highlight the importance of their actions in the best interest of the child. Ostensibly, this requires a delicate balance of perceptions (fears) and benefit-risk assessment to make rational and principled judgements about children’s access to risky play, risky literacy, and risk intelligence. As explored throughout this book, the authors contend that nature-based outdoor playful learning supports children’s holistic development and wellbeing. Further, we advocate for decisions regarding children’s play that consider the benefit-risk assessment, and act upon a balanced perspective that supports the holistic development of well-rounded, resilient, and capable individuals. We conclude with some provocations for potentials ways forward. These include the potentials of a cultural shift in normalising ‘risky’ childhoods, broadening contemporary narrow notion of learning, to one that includes playful learning using neurodidactic pedagogies and, finally, considering the voices of children as decision makers regarding their play opportunities.