Children’s Health and Nature
The Benefits of Children’s Health and Nature on Childhood Development
The primary benefit of the outdoors and green spaces on children’s health is sensory exposure. Additionally, stimulation that supports healthy cognitive, emotional, physical, and social development is also beneficial.
Engaged Learning
Children are inclined to be curious and creative, to use critical thinking skills, and to develop an inquisitive mind outdoors. When a child has time, space, and freedom outdoors, they also tend to lead their learning, building confidence (Child Mind).
As a farmer, I find plants to be great teachers. What happens when a plant isn’t watered enough? Why did the plant in the sun get bigger than the one in the shade? Why doesn’t this one look like that one? These questions help you learn how a particular plant functions and how it interacts with the environment around it. They are also great for helping kids conceptualize something they observed and apply it to other aspects of life. If you keep a tomato plant in a little pot, it’ll never grow tomatoes.
Physical Benefits
Exercise and outdoor activities support a child’s motor skill development and coordination, and promote physical well-being awareness. What happens when you fall off your bike and get hurt? Do you try again? Were you going too fast? Physical activity outdoors teaches them how to keep themselves safe. It lends a hand to learning risk assessment and resilience (Healthy Children).
Studies show that children who spend time outdoors are less likely to develop asthma, obesity, and short-sightedness (Healthy Children).
In a Finnish study, children who formerly played in the gravel yard of an urban day care center were reported to have better-regulated immune systems and healthier microbiomes (gut and skin bacteria) within a month of the yard being restored to a natural forest floor (AAAS).
Emotional Benefits
As an adult, you know how good it feels to be outside. Children can engage in outdoor behaviors that they might not be able to do inside, such as yelling or climbing, which helps them reduce tension and restlessness, which is especially good for children with ADHD (Child Mind). Additionally, when a child gets hurt outside, they may have to engage in self-soothing or self-regulating behaviors. They learn how to manage their emotions without the help of an adult (Parents with Confidence).
Social Benefits
When we socialize children, we want them to learn healthy social skills, develop sound relationships, cope with stress and develop a sense of identity and self-esteem. When engaging without adults on the playground, children have the space to make their own rules, decide if they like to be alone, and how to get along. On the playground, children can learn how to work together, cooperate, and manage relationships (Harvard).
A Synopsis of Children’s Health and Nature
As technology advances, and more children are socialized by technology vs. nature and the outdoors, it’s important to ask what values, characters, and mental states will result. The quote by Senegalese environmentalist Baba Dioum comes to mind, “In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.“
A child who spends time in nature is likelier to become an adult who appreciates, respects, and possibly advocates for nature. If we raise a generation who understands what can be lost environmentally at the hands of human development, we may have a generation of stewards who can protect the resources and natural beauty of our planet as we move into the future.
Resources
AAAS: City Day Care Yards with Forest Floor Boosted Children’s Immune Systems
Child Mind: Why Kids Need to Spend Time in Nature
Harvard Blog: 6 Reasons Children Need to Play Outside
Healthy Children: Playing Outside: Why It’s Important for Kids
Parents with Confidence: 40 Astounding Benefits of Outdoor Nature Play for Kids</a>
