Spring is here and its time to get outdoors and reacquaint ourselves with all that nature has to offer!
While adults may already be familiar with their favorite outdoor activities, the young child sees the outdoor world as a fabulous blank slate of countless places to explore. Interactions with nature begin the moment the child goes outside with a bug found on the front step of their home or school and will end with a cool breeze that brushes their check before going in for the evening.
The need to be outside to experience the ever-changing world is a necessity for the developing child. While the indoor environment contains their behaviors with walls, doors, and windows, the outdoor environment allows total body freedom that simply can not be replicated indoors; running, jumping, loud voices, dirty hands and toes in the grass to name a few.
Research tells us that the child’s ability to interact with the outdoor environment has developmental benefits that extend beyond those physically observed. Children are found to be more imaginative, creative and cooperative when playing outdoors. Additionally, children experience less stress when playing along side others in nature.
Richard Louv, author of the international bestseller, Last Child in the Woods, has coined the phrase nature-deficit disorder to describe the growing gap between children and nature. After the first publication of his book, in 2005, he heard from many adults who agreed with this descriptive phrase for children but added adults are suffering from the disorder as well.
Have we become a society hesitant or even afraid to be outdoors? How much time do you as an adult spend outdoors both for your own well being and along with your children as a way to promote a healthy lifestyle for your family? Our blog this month will focus on the outdoor environment as a place for life long learning and health. Lets begin our conversation with your thoughts on children and outdoor play and how it is promoted in your home.
Beth Gausman, C.F.L.E.
Licensed in Early Childhood Education and Parent Education
Parenting Reflections 
Yes, Beth, what a good idea to ask readers to share ways of getting the kids outdoors. My favorite is a rope swing hanging in full view of the family and kitchen windows. It seems to sing “come and swing, come and swing!” It’s even useful for when/then moments. “When you finish putting the puzzle pieces away, then you may go outside and swing.”