TAKING risks safely sounds like a contradiction in terms, writes columnist Alison Eden.

The childhoods of those of us over 50 are often described as more care-free than today’s where fewer children play in the streets, are allowed to wander off on their own adventures or climb trees without adults present. 

The grubby knees, plentiful cuts and grazes of being active that were a part of a 1970s childhood have been lost to screen time and parents many of whom are too terrified for their kids’ safety to let them ‘free range’. 

There is a balance to be struck in letting children spread their wings, encounter the world on their own terms and do so safely. 

When I let my diminutive eight-year-old daughter go to the shops on her own for the first time, crossing several roads in the process, it nearly killed me with anxiety.  

When she was three, the image of letting her run ahead and screaming STOP as she appeared to be about to dive into a main road will never leave me. She did stop, though. Keeping your children alive while letting them learn independence is terrifying.

Strolling along the sea wall to Holcombe this weekend I watched families and their kids playing in some spectacular rolling waves.

A gorgeous hot day and a calm surfable sea. I watched one Dad stride out to chest height and then accidentally let go of the body board his very young toddler was lying on. 

The toddler held on while a wave shot him to shore without, thankfully, letting go, the board turning over, or ending up hurt at the water’s edge. I could see a look of terror followed by relief then pride on the Dad’s face. The kid had a great time and demanded his Dad ‘do it again’. 

Meanwhile, further along, a family of four including teenagers were kitting themselves out in life- jackets before getting in the water.

This area of beach has no lifeguards and is a dirt-track away from vehicle access. It’s such a beautiful spot and we can only hope there are no tragedies. The look on the kid’s face was magical – the thrill of being carried at high speed by the force of the sea onto, luckily, soft sand. But it could so easily have been deadly, damaging, traumatising if the current had deposited him onto rock or if he’d let go and sunk under the water. 

The power of the sea is known, feared and respected by those who live and work on it. Our tourists and visitors though are vulnerable to decisions made in seconds that can end lives. The incident in Bournemouth last weekend is a heart-breaking reminder of the need to be safe in and by the sea.

The RNLI have advice on their website about how to ‘Float to live’ if you get in trouble in the sea. See https://rnli.org/safety/float