Young children have a limited understanding of the risks surrounding them: they fall over, bang their heads, scrape their knees and worse. Parents and practitioners can try to create a risk-free environment, but this can reduce children's chances to to learn about risk and how to judge new situations. This bestselling guide shows how adults can share their own skills with young children to promote understanding of safety in a stimulating way. It covers key areas such as: putting risk into perspective; how children learn to take care of themselves; supporting children after accidents and avoiding preventable accidents; and working in partnership with parents. This second edition has been fully updated to reflect current practice, featuring new material on risk-benefit analysis and the importance of outdoor experiences. Too Safe for Their Own Good? will support any practitioner working with children under the age of 8 with the guidance they need to offer enough challenge to benefit children, and to avoid over-protection or careless practice.

Adults often try to create a risk-free environment for children, but this can reduce their opportunities to manage their own risk, making it difficult for them to learn how to judge new situations. This practical guide shows how adults can share their own skills with young children and promote understanding of safety within an interesting learning environment.The first edition made a huge contribution to the debate around children and risk. Over ten years later, this new edition thoroughly re-examines the issues of the first edition and assesses recent developments such as risk-benefit analysis and the importance of outdoor experiences.Written for the full range of practitioners involved with children, it will support them to take the middle path of offering enough challenge to benefit children, while avoiding the extremes of over-protection or careless practice.