Challenge Is an Essential Part of Learning and Development

 There was a time when I could sit on a bench at a playground to watch the children play and not have to worry about being added to a list of suspected senescent pedophiles. That was nearly 20 years ago when my ticket for admission to a playground without suspicion was having a grandchild in tow. Those were the good old days when I could sit back and enjoy watching parents and their young children interact. It was a wonderful outdoor laboratory for the study of behavior.

The dyads and triads sorted into three distinct groups. There were the parents who were so focused on the book they were reading or the conversation they were having with another parent that they seldom if ever looked at or interacted with their child. Only a familiar shriek or an alert from another, more observant parent could get their attention.

The second, and by far the largest, group was the parents whose attention was riveted on their children. Unfortunately, the rest of us were forced to listen to a continuous stream of warnings and admonitions, most of which were being ignored by the child.

William G. Wilkoff, MD

The parents in the third group were always watching their child. The most skilled could simultaneously continue to converse with another parent and still keep a sharp eye on their child. These wise parents seldom issued a safety warning. If their child was beginning to test what appeared to be the limits of his or her ability, or the parent’s comfort zone, the parent would silently approach and become a spotter.

Much has been written supporting the observation that children prefer challenging, sometimes risky behavior. With twinges of anxiety, you may have watched this phenomenon yourself being played out by your children or grandchildren. A confirmatory Norwegian study found that playground equipment that was too easy or provided little challenge was often abandoned or ignored. 

I recently read an interview with an educator who observed this same phenomenon. Timothy Shanahan, PhD, emeritus professor at the University of Chicago and founding director of the UIC Center for Literacy, says, “Kids want to read harder stuff.” Dr Shanahan says that for decades, teachers in this country have been told to present their students text that is at their level. The standard practice was to then test the students with material at the same level. He warns, “The problem with this approach is it lacks challenge.” He says that it isn’t surprising that we haven’t been seeing the growth in reading we have hoped for. There has been an assumption that children are “demotivated by difficulty” when, in reality, Dr Shanahan says research shows that it is the instruction they find boring, babyish, and demotivating.

This notion that children intuitively seek challenges that match their skill level is rooted in the work of Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky, who championed a method known as “scaffolding,” in which learners are supported so they can reach for a higher level on their own. The parents in the third playground group I described, who chose to be careful but silent observers and spotters, seem to have known this instinctively, or they were following a style of parenting they learned from their own parents. 

Where do pediatricians fit into this somewhat counterintuitive approach to reading instruction and playground behavior? I think we have to admit that as an organized group, we tend to err on the side of caution. We have always been strong advocates for safety across the board, whether it be toys or sports or environmental risks. But there are days when I am tempted to say, “Enough already with all the cautions. We are beginning to sound like a bunch of nervous Nellies (or Nelsons).”

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t for a moment think we should ratchet back our efforts to protect children from the dangers they may encounter. Maybe we should broaden our message to include an emphasis on how parents can support their children when they exhibit that intuitive urge to challenge themselves. We have given too little attention to the observation that well-monitored challenges are an important part of the learning and development process. It’s time to add a second note to the same old song. 

William G. Wilkoff, MD

Retired clinician, primary care pediatrics, Brunswick, Maine

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/challenge-essential-part-learning-and-development-2025a1000zqy