posted on 2023-08-30, 16:17authored byKassia Beetham, Julia Sterman, Anita Bundy, Shirley Wyver, Jo Ragen, Lina Engelen, Michelle Villeneuve, Grace Spencer, Paul Tranter, Geraldine Naughton
Becoming an autonomous adult includes understanding consequences associated with risks. However, the extent to which parents afford children with disability opportunities for manageable risk-taking is not known. The aim of this study was to compare parents of children with and without disability to identify any differences in promoting manageable risk-taking. Data were collected from parents of typically-developing children and parents of children with developmental disability. Two groups were matched based on parent and child chronological ages for typically-developing children and children with developmental disability. These parents completed the Tolerance of Risk in Play Scale (TRiPS), a 16-item measure of activities adults allow their children (aged 2 to 12 years) to participate in. Parents of typically-developing children were significantly more likely to answer ‘yes’ to six questions regarding the likelihood of them tolerating manageable risk-taking compared to parents of children with developmental disability (p<0.05). The total number of tolerated risks was also significantly higher for the parents of typically-developing children (341[79%]) than the parents of children with developmental disability (247[58%]). Parents of children with a disability were less tolerant of risk-taking in play than the parents of typically-developing children.