Tore (72) talks about a childhood memory that sticks in his mind. It’s about sledding on a steering wheel: “Me and another person came down the street at full speed over the tram track, and the tram came probably one meter from us. I only saw black. We passed by. If it had been a tenth, perhaps a hundredth of a second later, I wouldn’t be here today,” the 72-year-old shares his story in connection with a larger generational study conducted at NTNU in Trondheim. Researchers have interviewed 90 people to find out, among other things, whether children’s play has changed over time. It was Gemini.no that mentioned this case first. With death as a consequence A selection of men and women in their 20s, 50s and 70s participated. Everyone was asked how they remembered the toy from their childhood. They were also asked to rate children’s play today. All state that they have memories of rough and dangerous play. However, there are still some variations between the different age groups. The game is remembered as more dangerous “back in the day”. Because according to the study, the two oldest generations must have told stories about play that led to serious injuries and deaths. Examples that are mentioned come from traffic, in mountains and on hillsides, by the river, on the shore and by water. Several tell of stone wars in which playmates were both badly injured and died. But the content of the rough play has changed in line with the development of society, the researchers write. A clear change – Before, the fewest children went to kindergarten, and the youngest children went to school every other day. In this way, many children had a lot of time to play without the adults monitoring the slightest movement. That’s what university lecturer Ragnhild Røe Norderhus says at the Department of Teacher Education at NTNU. The youngest participants in the study have no history of dangerous play. Here, there is mostly talk of rampages. But a recurring theme that appears in the stories of the 20-year-olds is that “scary” play in the school yard was banned. For example, snowball wars, the king of the pile and play fighting. – It could probably be because they wanted to protect the children. Then because you are afraid that the game will become too violent or that the children will injure themselves, says Norderhus. She has little faith that such play should be banned. Ragnhild Norderhus and colleagues have prepared a major generational study. She says all the participants, regardless of age, say that through play they have sought excitement and fun based on the scope they have had. Photo: Private – Do not ban “scary” play – As a rule, snowball throwing can take place in separate areas in the school yard. Then it will probably be the children who want to join in the game, who will seek out the place. I therefore see no reason to ban this. But she clarifies that adults should intervene if the play becomes too violent. According to the results of the study, children can simply benefit from playing a little rough. But increased institutionalization of childhood has led to children’s play being more regulated and under adult control. This can lead to less independence. – The oldest participants in the study say that they could play quite freely without adults interfering. This led to them learning to take care of themselves and others, says the researcher. Now she hopes their findings can contribute to a change. The researchers have a recommendation for parents, schools and kindergartens. – We hope this can contribute to an understanding that rough play can be nuanced. So that a greater distinction can be made between protecting children from play that is dangerous, but not banning play that is “only” scary or considered naughty.
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Should children be allowed to play rough? Researchers with a clear recommendation for parents, schools and kindergartens – news Trøndelag
