Kids need risky play, say experts. The unintended consequences of Toronto’s tobogganing bans

There is such a thing as playing it too safe when it comes to kids, say experts. Risky play, like tobogganing, is being linked to better mental health and executive function.

Thestar.com
Jan. 24, 2024
Francine Kopun

Experts are increasingly linking a decline in risky play -- like tobogganing -- to the rising mental health crisis among children and youth.

Their message? Kids should hit the slopes.

Taking risks breeds confidence in children, as well as an improved ability to manage stress, uncertainty and anxiety, says Mariana Brussoni, a developmental psychologist, expert in child injury prevention and professor at UBC’s Faculty of Medicine.

Toronto’s ban on tobogganing at 45 hills so far this year is an example of a societal trend that has been on the rise since at least the 1980s, and one that has had unintended negative consequences, says Brussoni.

“We’re robbing kids of opportunities to get those positive effects. So what we’re seeing is a huge increase in children’s depression and anxiety.”

Coun. Brad Bradford (Ward 19 Beaches-East York) says he’s preparing a member’s motion to present at the next council meeting, asking the city to reverse the ban.

“I think it’s an embarrassment for the whole city,” said Bradford, whose office has been inundated with calls from residents complaining about the bans.

It turns out that standing at the top of a toboggan hill with friends, eyeing the angle of a slope, the texture of the snow and sussing out the obstacles, helps kids learn how to evaluate risk, and how to manage strong emotions like anxiety and fear.

“You also learn to shift that cognitive attribution from fear and danger to thrill and excitement,” says Brussoni. “You learn to cope with the flood of those emotions, and they don’t become overwhelming or scary.”

The research seems to fly in the face of Toronto’s decision to close tobogganing hills that have been popular for generations. At East Lynn Park, where the city used to pack bales of hay around obstacles at the bottom of the slope, there's now a sign at the top telling people tobogganing is not allowed.

“While interventions -- like bales of hay and snow fencing -- can be applied to hills where tobogganing is not permitted, the fact remains that these hills may still be unsafe as certain hazards cannot be removed,” says city spokesperson Russell Baker, citing trees, stairs, wading pools, benches and buildings as examples.

“These interventions can create new hazards that may result in serious injuries.”

The city’s practice of reviewing hills began in 2017, although Baker couldn’t say what triggered it, other than a desire to mitigate risk while still providing tobogganing opportunities to people. The city maintains a list of hills where tobogganing is permitted.

An average of one legal claim a year related to tobogganing on city property is filed against the city, according to Baker.

No tickets have been issued under the bylaw since 2017. The penalty is $100, according to Baker. He said that if bylaw enforcement officers encounter someone violating the bylaw, the first step is education, to explain the rules and potential hazards of ignoring the signs.

Only 21 per cent of children in Canada play more than 1.5 hour a day outside, even though it provides them with greater benefits than playing indoors, according to Outdoor Play Canada, a national network dedicated to getting kids outdoors.

Playing outside allows children to jump, run and yell. There’s more for them to explore, they cover more ground during play, getting in more steps, and decide with friends what to do.

“When children are outside, they move more, sit less and play longer,” according to a position paper from the organization.

Studies have shown children allowed to participate in risky play get better at detecting risk and show increased self-esteem and decreased sensitivity to conflict, according to a paper by Brussoni and other researchers in the field.

Risky play also helps develop motor skills, social behaviour, independence and conflict resolution and even improves “the ability to negotiate decisions about substance use, relationships and sexual behaviour during adolescence,” according to supporting research cited in the paper.

The most recent ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth found that only 28 per cent of Canadian kids met the physical activity recommendation of at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily.

That report attributes the decline in active play in part to the lingering effects of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, during which recreation centres and playgrounds closed.

According to data gathered for CASEM in 2015, the number of hospitalizations in Canada due to tobogganing came last among winter sports, after injuries sustained playing ice hockey, ice skating, skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling, between 2006 and 2011.

Hospitalizations for tobogganing ranged from 171 to 252 a year, compared to more than 1,000 a year for ice hockey and well over 2,000 a year for skiing and snowboarding.

The resulting opinion, written for CASEM, did not support banning tobogganing for children, despite the risk of injury ranging from minor to severe.

But it did emphasize the importance of tobogganing safely. For that reason, Purcell, a pediatric-sport and exercise-medicine physician and an associate clinical professor in pediatrics at McMaster University, said that while the organization does not endorse banning tobogganing entirely, it does support Toronto’s decision to close 45 hills due to safety reasons.

“If they’ve done their risk assessment, and that’s what their decision is, then I think they’re coming at it from a citizen-safety perspective,” said Purcell.

Bradford’s motion to reverse the ban on tobogganing will need the support of two-thirds of councillors at the meeting in order to be added to the agenda. The next council meeting is scheduled to begin Feb. 6.