Sit Down Sunday With Erinn Gallagher
Today, I got to sit down and chat briefly with my good friend, nurse and new mummy Erinn.
The conversation was full of firsts for me from a party outside intruding onto our conversation to a cat taking the limelight. None the less we were finally able to get it done. The conversation was as inspiring and thought provoking as ever with discussions around transition into motherhood and it’s complications. The role of the outdoors in a child’s upbringing , maintaining optimal mental healthy hygiene and the importance of risk alongside various other questions that were pertinent to ask as certain things arose in the conversation.
This conversation brought into the limelight two key discussion points. One which relates to Forest School practice but the other not directly so.
I was taken aback by the potential gap in popular and widely accessible mothering literature that fails to address what if pregnancy doesn’t go to plan?
But truthfully what if it doesn’t? How might this undue stress affect a family? How might this impact on the labour and more importantly a child’s development to a young adult.
It would not be to far fetched to suggest that these and other closely related questions and areas, are AS crucial for a soon to be parent to acknowledge and understand, even on a very simple level and be forearmed with.
The preparation or more pertinently the catch up upon any additional key information following a babies birth is a highly difficult task , as Erinn and probably many other new mums would admit as they adapt to life with a new born and it’s daily needs, not to mention further complications that may be present.
I have to address here the word potential. I can not state for certain if there is or is not this type of literature, but would be highly interested to know for sure. Indeed if you are an author of such a book, I’d love to get you on the show.
Next was the importance of risk for the healthy development in childhood, of which there is a substantial body of research literature on.
Yet there is a discrepancy with parental attitudes toward risk and it is play that is often shied away from for a variety of reason but most commonly safety concerns.
There is a truth behind such concerns put perhaps the lengths to which it has been pushed has been found to create so many developmental issues further down the line in a child’s life.
By preventing this key play child development is both hindered physically and mentally with the most worrying hindrance being on emotional processing.
This is the ability to process stress and other extreme events and move past them. When people are unable to process those emotions, they develop phobias and other mental health issues.
Development of Emotional processing allows specific and intense feelings to dissipate over time. Risky play deprivation can also contribute to a fear, discomfort and dislike of the environment, reduced sense of personal control and emotions, increased social isolation and a reduction in happiness; all of which are associated with anxiety.
In short, it is timely and paramount to reflect on adults overprotective approach towards safety and to consider its impact on healthy child development.
Risky play arguably prepares a child, for future survival. Through exposure to risky play, children are able to test and become familiar with its possibilities, their own limits and abilities.
How they interact within a given perceptively risky play situation involves a stand off between two oppressive emotions; exhilaration and fear.
It is this exhilaration, arousal and ‘scarryfunny’ feeling that drives children to habitually seek out risk in their play. It takes time and practice for children to master risks and succeed at new challenges which are further motivation for their experimentation and great development of life long skills such as perseverance.
This said there has become somewhat of a parent revolt where risky play is concerned as ably demonstrated in this chat by Erinn. A parent who is willing to allow her child to experiment with risky play, in a supportive manner that maintains the benefits but mitigates the hazards.
This is perhaps influenced by a parents upbringing and their experiences and consequently what they wish for their children. As touched upon in the chat, not all parents may feel comfortable with their children partaking in risky play.
It is interesting to note that research has found a mellowing or greater acceptance for their child to take risks during or following a Forest School programme.
It is suggested that the reason behind this is that parents felt comfortable entrusting the safety of their children to an expert of this play type, in the forest school leader, so allowing their child to benefit.
Following a number of visits the research noted that parents opinions surrounding risky play started to positively change , as they witnessed and spoke with the Forest School Leader about risky play and their strategies, thus allowing them to feel more comfortable in allowing greater opportunities for their child to undertake risky play outside of a Forest School Setting.
To hear the full conversation please follow the links situated below.
To find out more about Eco Ed forest school specifically please visit the website at www.ecoedforestschool.co.uk.
