Details

Title: Parental perceptions of risk and safety: Do they undermine child and youth physical activity, and can they be reframed?

Purpose: To examine the role of parental perceptions of safety and risk as barriers to opportunities for children and youth to participate in physical activity, outdoor play and active school travel. This symposium will facilitate discussion of policy and practical solutions for reframing risk.

Rationale:      

Independent mobility (IM) refers to a child’s freedom to travel around their own neighbourhood without adult supervision. IM is associated with increased likelihood of participation in play, active school travel and physical activity. Over recent decades there has been a general decline in levels of children’s independent mobility. These declines are attributed to a number of factors including perceived threats from traffic and ‘stranger danger’ in what some suggest is a ‘risk-averse society’. Addressing parental perceptions of risk and safety should be a necessary component of interventions to promote opportunities for children and youth to engage in outdoor play and active school travel. This symposium will include three presentations examining perceptions of safety and risk in Canada and Spain. The remainder of the symposium will provide a forum for discussing potential solutions to reframing parental risk.

Objectives:

1. To collectively consider the role of parental perceptions of risk and safety as a barrier or a facilitator to child and youth participation in physical activity.
2. To share findings from three studies examining risk in the context of risky play, active school travel, and independent mobility.  
3. To discuss potential intervention approaches for supporting parents to positively reframe risk.                                                                  

Summary:      

This session will consist of three oral presentations, a discussant and an open forum. The Chair will set the scene and context for the symposium. Oral 1 will present recent qualitative work examining perspectives of ‘unstructured’ and ‘risky’ play among parents of children who participated in, and among play ambassadors who facilitated a recreational facility-led Loose Play program in Calgary, Canada. Oral 2 will present results from a cross-sectional survey of parents from Granada, Valencia, Jaen and Toledo (Spain) exploring correlates and barriers to adolescent independent mobility. Oral 3 will present results from a national survey investigating the correlates of risk aversion among Canadian parents. The Discussant will provide a Scandinavian perspective in synthesizing the presentations, highlighting common themes, and facilitating discussion of interventions to reframe parental perceptions of risk.

Speaker