by the Editor     Experts urge children to get outdoors as new research uncovers a massive decline in outdoor play across the generation. Most Aussie kids don’t climb trees anymore, according to new research from Planet Ark. Once a symbol of an idyllic childhood, this nature-loving pastime is so significantly on the decline that only 19% of Australian children enjoy a clamber in their local tree.

Our children’s love affair with the great outdoors is waning so rapidly that 10% of kids today play outside just once a week and only 35% of children play outside everyday compared to 72% of kids a generation ago. Experts are urging Australian parents to help get our kids back outdoors to ensure the social, emotional and physical  development of current and future generations.

The findings and report released today are part of an independent study commissioned by Planet Ark and sponsored by Toyota, titled Climbing Trees – Getting Aussie Kids Back Outdoors, to raise awareness of National Tree Day on Sunday 31 July, Australia’s biggest tree planting and nature based event.

The landscape of childhood has changed so significantly in just one generation that 73% of Aussie parents agreed that they played outside more often than indoors compared to only 13% of their children. The choice of outdoor activities between generations has also changed with activities like jump rope, hopscotch and street games down from 66% to 29%, exploring nature down from 65% to 28%, and only 19% of children climbing trees today compared to 64% of children a generation ago. Furthermore, 73% of people stated that they played on their street as kids but only 24% of their children do the same.

The barriers to outside play include crime and safety concerns with 87% of respondents saying they were worried about letting kids play games on the street like they once used to and one in four parents saying they simply don’t have enough time to play outdoors with their kids anymore.

However, the research indicated that Australians overwhelmingly agreed on the benefits of outdoor play for the positive development of our next generation of kids, with 92% saying it allowed children to use their imaginations, 93% agreeing that it helped develop physical and motor skills, and 90% saying it provided a positive outlet for reducing stress.

Professor Anita Bundy, an internationally renowned academic in the area of children’s occupational therapy and assessment from The University of Sydney is leading the charge to address the decrease in children’s play outdoors.

Professor Bundy’s current research in this area focuses on the benefits for children of providing opportunities for unstructured play in schools to increase children’s activity levels and playfulness. She hopes the work will revolutionise school playgrounds, leading to the introduction of more natural play spaces and unstructured equipment that stimulate more creative outdoor play.

“Our current research stems from the worry that children’s emotional wellbeing, creativity and social skills are impaired by the decrease in outdoor play. While parents understandably prioritise safety, what they seem to forget is that playing outdoors—especially with friends-- contributes to experiences and skills that promote safety ”, said Professor Bundy.

A report from AboutKidsHealth, leading online Canadian provider of children’s health information, has examined this issue.  Along with nurturing thinking skills, nature gives both children and adults a much needed reprieve from the highly sensory demands of urban settings, says Dr. Michelle McCauley. A psychologist and researcher involved in running a conservation psychology lab at Middlebury College in Vermont, she claims that, “all of us benefit from having unstructured time in nature because our attention is not forced in particular direction.”

Richard Louv, child advocacy expert and founding chairman of the Children & Nature Network, argues that meandering outdoors is essential for a child’s physical and emotional health. “Kids need loose, unstructured dreamtime to experience nature in a meaningful way,” he says.

Inadequate exposure to the outdoors creates, what Louv coins, a ‘nature-deficit’ in children, which impedes their physical and mental well-being. Louv supports this mounting research in his book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. “When we’re outside in nature... all our senses are working at the same time,” he says. And it is during this time when our minds are most receptive to learning, which is what increases cognitive function, he adds.

Thirty-eight-year-old Ken Liao reminisces fondly about growing up in the Philippines. “At 10 I was free to roam and walk to the grocery store,” he says. “I would meet up with some friends along the way and we would go to our school and play in the schoolyard.”

Now, a father of two, Liao says he’s apprehensive when it comes to letting his eldest daughter roam as freely as he once did. “It isn’t as safe,” he says. “I wouldn’t let her go to the [grocery store] by herself.” Parental fear is a big reason why few kids today can relate to Lieu’s childhood experience of wandering outdoors unsupervised.

When it comes to creating ways for children to experience nature in an unstructured manner, this deep, parental fear of ‘stranger-danger’ has created somewhat of a paradox. One way to avoid this fear is to arrange an ad hoc meet up with families in the community. “Families can collectively agree to show up at a park and go on outdoor play dates at a park or go together on a hike in the woods,” adds Louv.

“Nature is… no longer defined as hours away in a remote part of the countryside. Rather, we can connect with the natural world by exploring the woods at the end of the cul-de-sac, our backyards, or a ravine behind a housing development,” Louv says. “These may look insignificant to adult eyes, but to a child that can be a doorway to the whole universe.”

Planet Ark’s Rebecca Gilling says “Making outdoor activity a habit for kids can be easy, if you know how. Some ideas to try include climbing a tree, playing street cricket, riding a bike, going for a bushwalk, walking the dog or even camping in the backyard!

More ideas:

• Take a drive along the beach, and get out!
• Find a local farm or petting zoo, and feed the animals.
• Go fishing.
• Pick some berries.
• Give your kids free reign over a dirt patch in the garden.
• Go on a treasure hunt.
• Take some nature photos.
• Plan a craft activity with collections from nature.

Recommended Book:
 

Small Fry - Outdoors ... Featuring ideas to inspire children, activities are related to the senses and concepts, everyday activities and chores, ideas for rainy days and the seasons. And you don't even need a backyard!

Links:

Tree Day

About Kids Health

Children and Nature Network

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