Children Need Nature

Today’s children are less connected to the natural world than any previous generation. They are also more likely to struggle with aspects of physical, social, emotional, and cognitive growth and development. This should not come as a surprise. Being outdoors is a critically important part of children’s play and being connected to nature is essential for many aspects of learning, health, and well-being.

While I am encouraged by the movement to reconnect children and nature, the forces separating children from nature are continuing to grow. Economic forces are destroying natural ecosystems and creating more nature-deficient communities, while societal forces are pulling children indoors and filling up play time with screens, structured activities, single purpose toys, and manufactured play areas.

It is unacceptable that we are making it harder for children to grow up healthy. We share the collective responsibility to restore the experience of childhood to one that allows all children to thrive, and this includes finding safe and equitable ways to increase children’s connection with the natural world.

Natural environments best support movements that help build strong bodies and brains
Children move more when they are outside. In addition to the benefits of increasing physical activity, natural settings offer a greater variety of movements than many manufactured play areas. Nature provides many loose parts that inspire creative and imaginary play. Movements like pushing, pulling, lifting, spinning, swinging, rolling, and going upside down each have specific benefits for children’s physical and sensory development. In addition, there is less near-sightedness when children spend more time outside and away from screens. When a wide range of options for movement are available to children early and often, they will naturally choose movements that match their developmental needs. This is the best way for children to develop the competence and confidence to enjoy being active and spending time in nature throughout their lives. These same early movements help develop many of the skills which are required for future academic success.

Being surrounded by nature can help children feel better, sleep better, and regulate their emotions
Many of us are lucky enough to have appreciated the calming effect of nature and the sense of awe that it can inspire. Children benefit greatly from those same experiences. Nature can boost mood and help reduce anxiety. Nature can also improve sleep, reduce stress, and help protect against emotional and social problems.

Nature helps children unwind, relax, and be ready to learn
Spending time in nature can help produce the calm alert state in which the infant and young brain is primed for learning. Natural settings provide relief from the often-overwhelming combination of bright colours, busy movements, screens, and loud noises found in many settings that are considered child-friendly. Even short breaks can improve attention and behaviour in school-aged children. Schools report great successes when they green their schoolyards, bring nature into classrooms, increase unstructured play time for recess and lunch, and include outdoor learning as part of core curriculum.

Nature helps prevent illness and fight disease
Exposure to nature can reduce markers of stress. Regular exposures to biologically diverse natural environments help strengthen the immune system and prevent against a wide variety of chronic health problems. Spending time in natural environments also provides breaks from indoor air pollution and can reduce exposure to common illnesses like colds and flu which circulate easily around busy indoor spaces.

Nearby nature is key
Remote wilderness experiences aren’t required for children to benefit from nature. We are all better off when we live in nature-rich homes and communities, but it is important to remember that nature can be found even in highly developed urban areas. While we work to bring more nature into children’s lives, we must also find ways to help children experience more of their existing nearby nature every day. Nature images and recordings can also play a role and can be part of helping children understand how we are connected to the other natural systems on our planet.

As much as children need nature, nature also needs children
There is another reason why we urgently need to reconnect children and nature. Nature in many of our communities is under siege and climate change looms as the greatest global health crisis of the 21^st century. The well-being of children in the future depends on us taking action today. This includes giving today’s young people the desire and capacity to become much better stewards of the natural world than we have been.