At my most cynical, I am forced to conclude that there are two kinds of science today: science that is ruthlessly and transparently subordinated to (left-wing) political concerns, and science that tells us things we already know.

The journal Nature has repeatedly demonstrated the former kind of science. In July, it endorsed Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, lazily eliding her political success with the triumph of science as a whole. And in November, it solicited laments from scientists about Donald Trump’s victory. The publication was consistent throughout this blatant politicking in worrying about the decline of trust in science and scientific institutions. It was also consistent in failing to attribute this decline to these institutions themselves, whose defaulting to progressive groupthink has compromised their capacity for genuine scientific inquiry.

And now, Nature has given us some of the latter kind of science. A recent article there made the case for letting children engage in what researchers call “risky play”: “activities ranging from climbing and jumping from heights to simply leaving the watchful eye of an adult.” According to scientists, “research has emerged showing that opportunities for risky play are crucial for healthy physical, mental and emotional development” and that “children need these opportunities to develop spatial awareness, coordination, tolerance of uncertainty and confidence.” This is true even if parental instincts, combined with culture-wide risk aversion and safetyism, militate against allowing children to be free in this way.

Thank you, science, for elaborately and circuitously confirming what kids everywhere have known basically forever: It’s good to play outside. I was fortunate to have the kind of upbringing in which I didn’t have to be told by anyone, especially not by scientists, to roam around the neighborhood and romp around the creek. I did it myself, in the company of my friends (often, conveniently, my neighbors). A good stick helped. I had lots of fun doing it, even — especially — when it was challenging. I like to think I’m better off for it.

I worry that kids today — overscheduled, domineered by overcautious parents, and overstimulated by digital life — don’t have such opportunities. Well, if the language and authority of science, however compromised they may be, can convince adult authority figures that such play is good for kids, here’s the evidence. Now let the kids play.