Parents’ Perception of Risk in Play: Associations with Parent and Child Gender

Allowing children the opportunity to take risks in their play may provide learning experiences that benefit children’s health and well-being. Parents’ perception of risk in children’s play may affect their behaviour and, in turn, their child’s risk-taking opportunities. This paper examines whether parent and child gender are associated with parents’ perceptions of risk in children’s play and whether any gender differences hold after controlling for parent anxiety. Data were collected from 88 parent dyads who were parents to preschool-aged children in England. Parent gender differences were found, with mothers perceiving greater risk in children’s risky play activities than fathers. Child gender was not significantly related to parents’ perception of risk. These findings are important for informing the development of programmes and advice designed to encourage parents to support their children’s outdoor, risky play. Specifically, they indicate that, for mothers in particular, support around perceiving risk and risk-reframing might help parents to give their child the opportunity to play in this way. Highlights Mothers and fathers may perceive risk in their children’s play differently. Parents with preschool-aged children completed a measure assessing their perceptions of risk across play activities. Across 88 parent dyads, mothers perceived more risk in their children’s play than fathers perceived. Parent’s perceived risk similarly irrespective of their child’s gender.