“There is more child obesity, and there are initiatives to get them to move more and eat more healthily,” Kuiper explains. “This initiative has a wider goal: it aims at what we call ‘risk competence’, so children become more independent and better at protecting themselves."
In the UK, it is an offence to leave a child alone if it places them at risk, and parents can be prosecuted if they leave a child unsupervised “in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health”.
But Kuiper claims we need to reign back on the over-protection.
“If they are properly guided, a child of five can light a fire, sometimes even a four-year-old. You should warn them that it’s hot and you shouldn’t stand on the wrong side if there is wind. But they should learn to handle fire, rather than you saying: ‘Don’t do that. It’s dangerous!’”
Obviously, parents need to be sensible, and Kuiper says the campaign is about nuance.
“A child of two should not be left alone by open water, but this might be fine for a child of seven with a swimming [proficiency] diploma,” she said. “There’s a social tendency for children to be more protected, pampered and regulated but in Scandinavia and Canada we’re seeing a counter movement to allow children to be more free.”
As part of the campaign, there is a questionnaire on the website, asking parents to answer whether they would let their five-year-old climb a tree, a seven-year-old light a campfire or a six-year-old go to a park with friends, out of sight.
More, it also suggests facilitating children playing at heights, with speed, dangerous substances, in dangerous places, with some rough-and-tumble and out of sight.
The campaign was inspired by a survey of 1,000 Dutch parents by TNS NIPO, which found 79% would be happy to let their children take risks while playing, but were constrained by fear of injury and others’ disapproval.
