A qualitative study of parental perception of 5-6 years old children’ risky play in playgrounds

Abstract

The issue of risky play in children is gaining great importance both in the academic field and in public policy within Europe. Due to the fact that a large part of the physical activity carried out by children takes place in playgrounds, an investigation on risky play that occurs in such spaces is needed. This article proposes an investigation on the perception by mothers and fathers about the risky play that their children of 5 and 6 years of age develop in playgrounds. It also tries to frame this perception from an Eliasian perspective within broader socio-historical processes, focusing on our country as a representative of the European Mediterranean area. The qualitative analysis of twenty semi-structured interviews with fathers and mothers was chosen. The main conclusion of the study is the verification of the existence of contradictions and psychic tensions in the parents regarding the risky play the children. Such contradictions and tensions were associated with the difficult balance that demanded a flexible control of minors in which the need to give more freedom coincided with a demand to be more present / pending in the lives of their children.