Growing Through Risk: Supporting Play and Wellbeing from 9-15 Years.

🌿 KINN Celebrates Play Australia’s Growing Through Risk Position Statement

At the Kids in Nature Network (KINN), we are proud to support and celebrate the release of Play Australia’s new position statement, Growing Through Risk: Supporting Play and Wellbeing from 9-15 Years.

The statement highlights something many parents, educators and play advocates already know: children and young people need opportunities to experience challenge, adventure and managed risk as part of healthy development. Risky play helps children build resilience, confidence, decision-making skills, independence and risk literacy, all of which are important foundations for lifelong wellbeing.

Importantly, the statement reminds us that risky play is not unsafe play. Rather, it involves opportunities for children to explore uncertainty and challenge in environments where serious hazards are minimised, while preserving the valuable learning experiences that come from testing limits and building capability.

Nature provides some of the richest opportunities for this type of play. Climbing trees, balancing on logs, exploring natural landscapes, building cubbies and navigating uneven terrain all allow children to develop confidence, competence and a deeper connection with the natural world.

At KINN, we believe every child should have the opportunity to play, learn and grow in nature. That’s why we continue to advocate for nature play, outdoor learning and environments that support healthy challenge and exploration.

We encourage our network, partners and communities to explore this important work from Play Australia and join the conversation about creating environments where children can safely experience adventure, discovery and growth.

🔗 Read the position statement: PA_GrowingThroughRisk_PositionStmt_web.pdf