Life is fraught with danger. School playgrounds should be too | Tom Bennett

The primary school encouraging children to play with saws and bricks deserves applause – shielding kids from risk helps no one

Risk is a part of life, and schools are very much in the business of preparing children for life – not just as scholars but as human beings, citizens and custodians of the world. So news that a primary school in Essex has introduced bricks and saws into its playground to help children understand risk should be celebrated, not condemned.

On the surface there is perhaps much to feel anxious about. But a moment’s reflection is enough to realise that children are frequently exposed to worse things on the way to school, and if a slide and a swing are the greatest hazard our children ever face as they grow up, then I can only assume they are raised in an isolation tank.

Related: Has the UK become a country that really doesn’t like children? | Polly Toynbee

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from Children | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2FAWEBd