Ekscytujący strach – zabawa ryzykowna w opinii rodziców

The paper concerns the issue of risky play, previously unknown in Poland. It presents an overview of the findings to date in this area and the results of preliminary quantitative research. When designing the study, we took into account the fact that there are noticeable cultural differences in the attitude to risky play (Guldberg 2009), therefore the aim was to find out about the opinions of Polish parents about this type of activity. The study uses the method of a diagnostic survey conducted with the use of the questionnaire technique. The research trial included one hundred parents of children attending big-city kindergartens. Defining risk by parents (dramatizing it or marginalizing it) determines the limits of acceptable activities, it is a manifestation of power, therefore it is important to consciously approach the issue of risky play. The obtained preliminary data indicate a clear division of the respondents into two groups: parents who are cautiously trusting and parents full of anxiety. In the light of the results, an important problem is the potential of typical playgrounds that do not allow participation in risky play, and the lack of access to tools that could be used in such activities.