'Of course you can not control every second of every day and accidents will and do happen,' she explains. McDermott tells that as a parent she would 'rather be safe than sorry.' 'Even if (parents) believe their child is OK to play unsupervised, other kids might be less capable of making good choices and then other kids might encourage unsafe play or bully their peers,' McDermott says. 'Parents know their kids best, so they should ask themselves if there is anything inappropriate their child would have access to or might find scary,' she says.įor outdoor games in particular, parents should consider their own child’s physical abilities and street smarts, but also that of the kids they may be playing with. McDermott recommends that parents be aware of the kinds of games their children are participating in, so they can determine if it’s something their child can handle. 'And some games may be unsafe from a psychological perspective, like ones that may have scary themes or have more mature content that a child might misunderstand.'
'Some games might not be safe from a physical perspective, like those that require physical ability or motor skills that your child may not be ready for or able to do yet,' McDermott says.
