The way kids play and enjoy nature has changed over the years. Before playgrounds dotted every community, kids made the most of their imagination by creating things with sticks, mud and rocks; they built forts, and made up games among bushes and trees. Then they played on playgrounds where they climbed on metal structures set in asphalt or concrete. Those playgrounds have evolved over time to become safer spaces with padded ground cover and plastic slides and fences. Even though standard playgrounds can be fun for kids, studies show that when kids play outside close to nature, there is a positive impact.
The average child spends only seven minutes in unstructured outdoor play every day. The lack of outdoor time discovering nature can be the source of many health issues in preschool age children, including obesity and stress. These issues can be prevented through daily contact with nature at a young age.
According to Early Childhood Health Outdoors (ECHO) Program Director at the National Wildlife Federation, Sarah Konradi, even modest renovations to playgrounds help kids to move more and increase their social engagement.
“Connecting kids to nature can be a challenge in today’s society which is drawn toward electronics,” said Konradi. “Young kids and teens learn through tactile, hands-on experiences, where they can manipulate objects to learn about cause and effect. They synthesize this information to understand how they fit into the bigger world. They become connected to living things which is beneficial even to babies.”
Konradi and her team are involved in designing spaces through grant-funded activities that blend elements of nature into play spaces. This may mean creating changes in topography, installing a vegetable and flower garden, creating winding paths for exploration through trees, grassy mounds, and areas where kids can get their hands dirty.
“They can touch, feel, and participate in activities rather than simply climbing on structures,” added Konradi. “What we’re seeing and hearing from teachers, parents, and child care directors – and research supports this — is that kids who are connected to nature are more focused and better able to use critical thinking skills throughout their lives.”
Outdoor play encourages children to set their imaginations free, with positive results. Kids with high stress levels feel calmer because they’re talking through what they see and are immersed in beauty instead of the turmoil in their heads. Nature also boosts their immune systems, generally improving kids’ health.
“This is especially true with children from lower income families, who may not have stability in their lives,” said Konradi. “Without connections to nature in high-quality, diverse environments, cognitive development may be impaired as kids are less able to process information and make good choices. Being involved with nature provides strong foundations of curiosity, inquiry, and imagination.”
Even babies benefit from learning to walk barefoot in grass where they feel that it’s cool, or building their gross motor skills on mounds of grass, that don’t require the large, empty “no fall zones” of mulch and rubber so typically found on traditional playgrounds, but where they can roll around and immerse themselves in full body play.
“There’s also something to be said for alone time,” added Konradi. “Nature can provide little hideaways and quiet spaces where kids can think, and figure out what’s going on around them. Developing play spaces that have those areas in nature, around water or tall grasses can be uplifting, and inspirational.”
ECHO is renovating more than two dozen outdoor spaces at Colorado child care centers, preschools, and public spaces to engage youngsters in outdoor play in nature. It’s important for parents to realize that everyone is in this together. It’s not that kids shouldn’t play on the more sterile plastic playgrounds, but it’s essential that they have the opportunity to be outdoors to touch tree bark, leaves, stones and plants.
The ECHO Initiative, a partnership between the National Wildlife Federation, Qualistar Colorado and the Natural Learning Initiative, is funded by grants from the Gates Family Foundation and the Colorado Health Foundation.
For more information, visit ECHO.
To hear Konradi’s TEDxMileHigh talk that she gave in Denver, visit TEDxMileHigh Talk.
