Parents blind to kids' risk-taking tendencies

London, Dec 20 (UNI) As 13-year-old Gaurang Dalvi allegedly hanged himself to death in Mumbai, while playing the choking game of dare, experts have revealed that parents worldwide are often unaware of risk-taking tendencies of their children.

Researchers at the University of Warwick and the Research Unit for General Practice in Copenhagen found children indulged in a great deal of thoughtful and considered risk-taking that was invisible to adults, Science Daily reported.

The findings, however, concluded that while children made misjudgements, they did not always 'blindly' throw themselves into risk-taking behaviours.

The study looked at children aged 10-12. They were observed for eight months to see how they engaged with risk, away from their parents in their everyday life at school, at an after-school centre and in their local community.

It was found that children actively engaged with risk and daily managed situations involving chances but avoided harmful actions, made assessments of their own bodily capacity and gauged risk in accordance with it. They even successfully negotiated levels of risks with other children by setting and amending the rules and physical limits to their games and activities.

The observations suggested that physical risk was less common among the girls studied but they took more ''emotional risks'' such as making the first move to befriend other people.

It was seen that boys were considerate and more careful while playing with girls because they perceived them as generally more vulnerable. Girls, on the other hand, did not see themselves as more vulnerable but expressed their wish not to be involved in rough play.

Parents would be amazed if they realised just how often their children took risks and were good at managing them. This risk-taking helps them gain a clear understanding of the strengths and limits of their bodies and prepares them for interaction with the real world beyond the often overprotected home, researcher Pia Christensen said.

UNI