‘Middle T (Thrill)’ Parenting: An Alternative Discourse for the Provision of Children’s Risky Play
Tracks
Wild Card
| Thursday, June 26, 2025 |
| 9:45 AM - 10:15 AM |
Details
We will offer a reconsidered discourse to parental attitudes to children’s engagement with risky play. To do this, we applied Farley’s (1986) Type T (big thrill) and “small thrill” behaviours to parenting styles during children’s exposure to risky play. Our research project explored parents’ (N = 302) perceptions of a naturally inspired play park. We unpack the ways parents embraced a Middle T risk (middle thrill) parenting style. Despite the negative discourse around overprotective or “helicopter” parenting, we found most parents clearly understood and valued the importance of risk-taking in children’s lives. We posit that the majority of parents who visited a nature play park adopted a “middle thrill” parenting style regarding childhood risk-taking. By embracing a healthy risk appetite, parents actively encouraged their children to engage in calculated risks at the park. To provide a contrast to contemporary constructions of intensive parenting as overprotective and diluting risk, we outline a “sweet spot” of Middle T risk parenting. Parents employed appropriate and nuanced language to elucidate the myriad benefits the park offered regarding choice and risk-taking. These findings underscore the fact that parents clearly articulated their comprehension of the significance and merits associated with children to undertaking a middle level of risk-taking. This is foundational to building children’s risk literacy. The recent advent of the international standard—ISO 4980:2023 benefit–risk assessment for sports and recreational facilities, activities, and equipment—gives permission for parents to adopt Middle T risk-taking as an essential ingredient in play provision.
Speaker
Jaydene Barnes
Lecturer, Early Childhood and Primary Education
Western Sydney University
‘Middle T (Thrill)’ Parenting: An Alternative Discourse for the Provision of Children’s Risky Play
Biography
Jaydene Barnes is a lecturer in early childhood and primary education in the School of Education at Western Sydney University. She researches in children’s play, teaching pedagogies to facilitate dialogue, connection and meaningful engagement in the early years, culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogies, access to early childhood education for families experiencing disadvantage and pre-service teacher education. Her teaching at Western Sydney University is closely aligned with her research areas in Professional Experience, Teaching Literacy (Birth-12 years) and Learning through Play subjects. In her current role at Western Sydney University Jaydene is an Academic Program Advisor for the Early Childhood/Primary teaching programs. Jaydene’s PhD focuses on the barriers and enablers of adopting play based pedagogies in Australian primary schools. Jaydene is a chief investigator on a 3year Action Research program involving teachers working in contexts of high language and cultural diversity in investigating their own pedagogical practices and designing and implementing innovative pedagogies that respond to the children and families contexts.
Tonia Gray
Senior Researcher, Centre for Educational Research
Western Sydney University
‘Middle T (Thrill)’ Parenting: An Alternative Discourse for the Provision of Children’s Risky Play
Biography
Professor Tonia Gray is a Senior Researcher in the Centre for Educational Research and School of Education (SoE), and a member of the World Leisure Centre for Excellence (WLCE), Western Sydney University, Australia. Tonia has been an educator for four decades and her multidisciplinary scholarship includes risk taking and nature-based learning for health and wellbeing. She also has a keen interest in the intersectional examination of gender leadership and climate justice. Tonia is the executive editor of the Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education and has a forthcoming book Gray. T., Sturges, M. & Barnes, J. (Eds). (2025). Risk and Outdoor Play: Listening and Responding to International Voices Part 1, Springer Nature. ISBN 978-981-96-5454-3. In 2014 Tonia received the prestigious Australian Award for University Teaching for excellence in outdoor experiential education and in 2019 received the Association of Experiential Education’s Distinguished Researcher of the Year. Tonia also was selected on the 2019 Homeward Bound Project a female-only expedition to Antarctica to investigate Climate Change.
Dr Marion Sturges
Lecturer
Western Sydney University
‘Middle T (Thrill)’ Parenting: An Alternative Discourse for the Provision of Children’s Risky Play
Biography
Dr. Marion Sturges is currently the director of the primary program at the School of Education, Western Sydney University. She also supervises a number of higher degree researchers. She is an experienced eductor of over 34 years and has worked extensively across all educational sectors, having taught in, and been, a leader in the tertiary, secondary, primary, and early childhood spaces. Marion has led and participated in numerous research projects working collaboratively with other researchers and educators. The focus of these projects is working with marginalised members of the community, including children, people with disability, and women to ensure their rights are met and exploring how the place can support or inhibit rights. Her Ph.D. was completed in 2021, undertaken in Early Childhood centres, and explored young children’s right to participate in place.
