All posts tagged: takers

As toddlers, chimps are major risk takers

As toddlers, chimps are major risk takers

Toddlers are the daredevils of the chimp world. Those 2 to 5 years old are more likely than older chimps to free-fall from treetops or leap wildly from branch to branch. Past age 5, such dangerous behaviors decrease by about 3 percent each year. Researchers shared these new observations in January in iScience.  Among humans, teens are the real daredevils. Compared to younger children, for instance, they’re more likely to break bones or die from injuries. Kids might want to behave as recklessly as chimp toddlers but rarely get the chance. Parents and caregivers are likely to put a stop to such fun — and the risk of broken bones — among human toddlers. “If humans scaled back their oversight, our kids would be way more daredevilish,” says biologist Lauren Sarringhaus. An author of the new study, she works at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. No monkeying around Human and chimp caregivers show different patterns. Chimp moms largely parent alone. Dads don’t help. Nor, typically, do grandmothers, older siblings or other group members. Youngsters cling to their moms …