Adults who can recall experiences of ultimate freedom to play in their own childhoods find it difficult to give their own children the same room for exploration [10]. In this context, research shows that if children are free to select the level of risk in their play activities, they will frequently choose a higher level than the guiding adult would predict and consider acceptable [11]. A lack of opportunities for risky and challenging play has negative consequences for becoming a healthy adult, such as learning to trust oneself, recognizing one’s limits, and knowing when it is better to ask for support [12].
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10671218/
My dad always said my sister and I both graduated top of the class from the School of Hard Knocks.
My aunt used to say that children’s souls didn’t fully anchor into their bodies until they’d fallen hard on their heads for the first time.
She’s Hungarian, I don’t know if that’s like a cultural myth to make people feel better about dropping their kids or just her own thing.