Are We Harming Our Children by Banning "Risky" Play?

I'd agree with that. One of the problems with not letting people try things is they have no real gauge on what is dangerous and what is not. So they tend to over react to things that are not dangerous and underestimate the danger when it really exists.

"... The research also lists examples of risky play that should be encouraged including fire-building, den-making, watersports, paintballing, boxing and climbing trees. ..."

Add to that: rafting, caving, rock climbing, bush-bashing, shooting, building structures with rope & poles, long distance bike riding, tree felling (axe and chainsaw), motor bike riding, tractors, swimming at surf beaches ( a mob of tourists drowned at a beach last year where I happily swam as a youngster ~ http://www.google.com/search?q=anglesea+drowning+beach+surf ) ... the list goes on. You do get a sense of what is dangerous and what you can handle. Having done all those before I was 14 meant I had a huge head start on my peers. To the point where even at Uni I'd done enough different things to leave experienced pro's wondering where I fit the time in for all these things.

There is a downside though. If you do make a mistake there is a pretty good chance you will get injured. If you don't you will fail to build up the store of experiences that you can call on in the future ~ http://flickr.com/photos/bootload/2730793708/

So what does it really tell you about over protective parents?

Does the word study in England not imply empirical research published in an academic journal?