Tips to Encourage Healthy Outdoor Play for Kids
Children Need Nature's Benefits, Parents Can Help Get Them Outside
May 15, 2009
Naturalist E. O. Wilson said that biophilia – love of nature – is natural. But if today's children grow up without nature experiences, they will never be bonded to nature and may not care about the environmental challenges of tomorrow. Parents can take steps to encourage biophilia and also support healthier children.
Take a Child Hiking in the Woods
Make it a habit to take your child hiking to local forest preserves and natural areas. Start early; even babies can enjoy a stroll on a woodland trail.
Realize that a child’s experience of nature is different from that of an adult. While adults experience nature as a scene, or background, children have a deeper and more direct experience. For a child nature is a more sensory experience.
Hike at a relaxed pace and allow the child to study a caterpillar or wood anemone. Don’t bombard the child with scientific facts about nature, let him experience it. Rachel Carson wrote in The Sense of Wonder, “I sincerely believe that for the child, and for the parent seeking to guide him, it is not half so important to know as to feel. If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow.”
Create an Inviting Play Space in Your Backyard
One of the best places for nature experience can be in our backyards. A natural backyard play space will entice children to go outside. Plant a woodland or prairie garden with native species that will attract birds and butterflies. Keep some wild unkempt places where sticks, stones and acorns can become play objects.
Set out feeders for the birds and the squirrels too.
Build a sandbox in your backyard.
Create a dwelling for your children like a treehouse or a playhouse. A seasonal dwelling can be created by planting a circle with giant sunflowers or native grasses. Build an igloo or snow fort in winter.
Prioritize Outside Play Time
To encourage children to get outside, reduce screen time. Parents should recognize the advantage of active play over passive screen time. It may be difficult at first and children may complain that they are “bored.” But stay firm; when screen time is unavailable children will engage in creative play.
Be wary of overscheduling your child in adult-organized activities. While adult-organized activities can be beneficial, there needs to be a balance in children’s lives. Too many organized activities leave little time for creative outdoor play and family time.
Advocate for Outdoor Play, Choose Schools Wisely
From daycare through grade school, children spend anywhere from 30 to 50 hours a week at school, so schools should provide an opportunity to reconnect with nature. Urge your school boards to keep recess, to send kids outside to play and to provide natural areas for them to play in.
When choosing a preschool, daycare or after care program, be sure that it is one that incorporates daily outdoor play into the curriculum.
A movement to reconnect children to nature is growing with the help of organizations such as Leave No Child Inside and Children & Nature Network. Join this movement for healthier kids and a healthier planet.
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