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Chapter 4 65 We conclude that a conception of risk as a Wagnis affirms the importance of trust in the parent-child relationship. Trust is something that is necessary for children’s development. Parents start from an a priori position of trust, a form of trust that is not based on reasons or reasoning. It requires a belief – a belief not grounded in reasons, though not immune to falsification – in the trustworthiness of the child. Bollnow’s distinction between inevitable existential risks where a parent risks herself and avoidable risks which do not require such an existential dimension contributes to an understanding of the objections philosophers of education have to a prevalent use of the concept of ‘risk’ as something that is and ought to be avoided. It makes clearer why Biesta is convinced that educators have to be willing to take (beautiful) risks, and why Smeyers argues that it is ‘self-deceptive’ to eliminate risk in education in principle; when making their argument, they have a type of existential risk-taking in mind.