In his work as a family therapist and researcher with children and families in educational and community settings, the author encounters children who are anxious, depressed, lacking in empathy, self-esteem and motivation, and naive in their expectations about their physical and mental abilities. They haven't been properly challenged. These kids miss exposure to sufficient amounts of risk and responsibility to help them jump what New Zealand human development researcher Terri Moffitt calls, "the maturity gap." This article explores how limiting children's exposure to danger deny them the opportunities to experience incremental amounts of risk required for good psychosocial development. The author argues that today's children are being denied the risk-takers advantage both inside and outside of the classroom. (Contains 6 notes.)