Lenore Skenazy

I have posted about Lenore Skenazy and her blog Freerangekids before but missed this great article she wrote for the Guardian last year.

I'm particularly interested in how risk has disappeared from our childrens lives due to the media, i.e. as Lenore writes:

"The stories that sell are the scary ones, which is why we keep hearing about the dangers to kids posed by food (choking), formula (additives), nappies (chemicals), blankets (smothering), toys (phthalate), school yards (bullies), playgrounds (injury), bedding (fumes), playmates (racism), books (leaded print), shopping carts (bacteria), car seats (asphyxiation), strollers (amputation), and dirt (dirt). Hard to remember that our kids are, all told, pretty safe! When I was born, four times more children died in infancy than now. When my parents were born, we had yet to eradicate polio. Or Hitler."

How can the design of open spaces encourage risk in play, increase confidence in parents that their kids are ok and ultimately allow kids to be free to come and go as they please?