The Wonderful World of Nature

What children can learn from it

Nature has always been a source of wonder and inspiration for children and something essential to their healthy physical and mental development.

Numerous studies have documented the advantages of spending time outdoors in natural settings, especially for young children.

When children engage with nature, they have a living, organic playground at their disposal to explore and learn from. Their minds are open, unstructured, and ready for discoveries. Most of the studies conducted to explore the benefits of spending time in nature report that children who play outside are smarter, happier, attentive, and less anxious than those children who spend more time indoors.

The grim scenario now is that children spend significantly more time inside than outside. While spending time outdoors in nature needs to be an essential part of growing up, they are becoming more and more alienated from it. Nowadays we find children increasingly spend more time watching television and playing with their gadgets than being physically active outside.

Creating opportunities for children to actively use their senses as they explore their world is vital for brain development and the nervous system.

  • Being out in nature provides an abundance of stimuli for all of their senses.
  • It gets children moving. Interacting with nature involves more exercise than sitting indoors.
  • It makes them think. No other place can give children the sense of amazement that nature can. It makes them ask questions about the earth and the lives on it. In nature, children observe, think, and question, thereby developing inquisitive minds.
  • It reduces stress and fatigue.

In an increasingly urbanised world, children are losing out on opportunities to have a direct connection with nature. Without direct exposure to nature, they are also missing opportunities to enhance their health and well-being and to develop responsible long-term environmental behaviour.

Research has shown their experiences in nature will develop their love of nature and lays a foundation for responsible environmental behaviour in future. Introducing nature into our children’s life can improve their focus, creativity, and awareness.

Here are a few simple strategies for inspiring a love of outdoors in kids:

It all begins at home

Regardless of whether you have a garden at home, encourage your child to plant seeds in a container and care for them. The child’s introduction to the lovely natural world can be by watching the seed develop into a plant.

Parks And Gardens

To pique their interest, take children to parks, botanical gardens, and reserved forests. The outdoors can be a sensory-opening experience for all five of their senses: touch, sight, taste, smell, and hearing.

Art With Nature

Encourage your child to use natural materials—such as leaves, flowers, petals, twigs, etc.—in their artwork. Do not forget that the process, not the outcome, is what matters. Permit them to take their time investigating the various materials.

Children’s senses are stimulated by being in nature by the sounds they hear, the sights they see, and the objects they may touch, such as plants and animals. There are certain experiences that can only be had outside in the natural world and cannot be replicated indoors. A child’s perspective will change thanks to first-hand experiences.