The Advantages of Natural Playscapes
In comparison to previous generations, children today lead a much more sedentary lifestyle.
It should come as no surprise that screen-time averages have reached an all time high for both kids and teens. And it’s far less of a surprise that children are spending less time outside and therefore less time interacting with nature.
But, what’s so bad about that?
Today, with children’s lives so disconnected from the natural world, their experiences tend to be primarily manufactured in that of a virtual world. And as a result, children are oblivious to the vast landscapes of nature which exists in their very own backyards or local parks. This, in general, only further disconnects a child from an important opportunity — That is, developing a keen understanding and appreciation for mother nature.
In his article, Naturalness in Landscape, Raymond Chipeniuk argues that nature documentaries and TV channels like National Geographic are conditioning children to think that nature is exotic, awe-inspiring and in far, far away, places they will never experience [1]. Not only does the loss of outdoor play and contact with the natural world negatively impact children’s growth, development, and acquisition of knowledge, it also sets the stage for a continuing loss of consideration for the environment.
This gradual decrease in outdoor play and activity is likely occurring because of rises in technology, the abundance of working family members, and of course, concerns about safety. This fairly new phenomenon — This abstinence of nature — is what Richard Louv coins as a “nature deficit disorder” in his 2005 book, Last Child in the Woods. Louv says that we only have such a brief opportunity to pass on to our children our love for this Earth, and to tell our stories. And that in these moments, are when the world is made whole [2].
A recent study from Australia found that of the 1975 children surveyed, 37% of children spent less than half an hour a day playing outdoors after school, and 43% spent more than 2 hours a day on screen time, for example, watching TV and videos, or playing computer games [3]. Moreover, further research from Richard Louv indicates that children aged three to four spend an average of 7.5 hours per day of waking hours sedentary; watching television, playing video games, and sitting for extended periods of time. He says that limiting children’s time in the outdoors can lead to other health risks such as: attention-deficit, and physical and emotional difficulties. As Louv states, we need to get outdoors and back to nature.
So, in an effort to save our children from nature deficit disorder, we do what any responsible adult would — Drop our kids off at the neighborhood park — As it is convenient, safe, and close to home. We understand that outdoor playgrounds are designed with the intent to facilitate children’s play, and to enhance their physical, social, emotional and cognitive growth and development. Though with their mass concentrations of plastic, and obnoxiously bright, artificial color schemes, modern-day playgrounds in America more closely resemble play-doh play-sets than they do nature (in my professional opinion). Despite the fact that traditional playgrounds are meant to promote children’s play, their structures and designs don’t live up to children’s needs for exploring their environment. The traditional modern-day playground is typically flat, covered with asphalt, and equipped with metal or plastic climbing bars, swings, seesaws, and slides. As play is a hugely significant part of any child’s development, creating safe, interactive and stimulating environments for children to engage with is extremely important. Fortunately, however, natural playgrounds are becoming increasingly popular.
In the last decade, the reduction in children’s interactions with nature has brought forth the importance of creating natural play environments.
Ok. Well, what is a natural playground?
The natural playscape, or natural playground, is defined as a space with as little man made components as possible. At its most basic, British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association define a natural playground as an outdoor area where children play with natural elements. These natural elements include things such as the rocks, sand, water, and plants. Natural playgrounds can provide children with opportunities unaccessible indoors or on traditional playgrounds. What’s more, is that research surrounding nature based playscapes have shown that they work better for children in numerous ways and support young children’s development in multiple domains [4]. As a matter of fact, nature based playscapes have shown to better stimulate children’s imaginations, boost their energy levels, and increase the amount of time they want to spend outdoors by a significant amount over factory made playgrounds.
Nature playgrounds use natural landscapes, natural vegetation, and materials in a creative and interactive way for child play and exploration. They’re designed with the intent to fundamentally enhance and influence a child’s curiosity, imagination, wonder, and discovery, and to nurture a child’s connectedness and appreciation for the world around them. A study conducted by Telemark University College, found that the environmental qualities most appreciated by children included: colors in nature, trees, woodlands, shifting topography, shaded areas, meadows, places for climbing and construction, and challenging places for exploring and experience [6]. Indicating that children have a genuine desire for more complex, challenging and exciting play environments than the traditional playgrounds usually offered them. Moreover, research published by author’s, Moore and Young, describe the impact of turning a yard from an asphalt square into an environmental garden with naturalized settings — Children’s perceptions of the yard after the re-formation included diversity, richness, a place to belong, caring for nature, and a friendlier atmosphere [7]. Interviews with the children five and twenty years later revealed memories of fascination with the yard and the complexity of its plants and animals. They frequently recalled the landscape features that afforded play, such as the little clearings, the bridge over the stream, the stepping stones in the pond, all the bushes and the trees to climb. The children who spent time in the Environmental Yard expressed greater environmental awareness, attended natural events, were more innovative in their play, and increased their fantasy play using objects that were readily available from the environment. They also became more interactive with the natural environment outside school.
The best and memorable things about our childhood are the ones that happen outside of our house. While there are some things to learn indoors, there are certainly even more lessons and experiences that could be found outdoors. Thus, it is therefore up to parents, communities and schools to re-introduce to children what it means to play in the outdoors, with good ol’ mother nature.
If you like the idea of incorporating good ol’ mother nature in to your children’s playtime, then here is a handy dandy list of a few simple DIY ideas I found on the web which you can use to get your family started.
A backyard tent.
If you have enough estate for outdoor camping, this idea could work very well for the family. Not only that it inexpensive, it is also safer, since you are in your own backyard and are able to supervise your kid’s activities.
Some unused or old wood logs.
If you have some wood logs that are just lying around, you can use them as obstacles or perhaps arrange them as chairs and tables. You can even get more creative and use your carpentry skills to make something out of the wood. Like a seesaw or giant Jenga game.
Make fun swings.
If you have some old chairs that you’re not using anymore, why not build a swing? If there are no old chairs available then perhaps an old tire will do the trick.
Build a tree house.
Many people grow up with fond memories of having their very own tree house in their backyard. If you have enough space, and also a sturdy tree in your yard, this idea could make your children very happy.
A zip line.
Speaking of treehouses, why not include a zip line? All you need to get started is some rope, a good cushion (just in case the kids let go or fall), and an informative youtube video — Check out this short DIY video below.
References
- Chipeniuk, Raymond. “A Repertory Grid Test of the Claim That Sense of Landscape Naturalness Is Specific to Culture.” Philosophy of the Social Sciences, journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/106939719502900402?journalCode=ccrc.
- Louv, R. (2008). Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Algonquin Books.
- Elizabeth Dickinson. “The Misdiagnosis: Rethinking ‘Nature-Deficit Disorder.’” Taylor & Francis, 29 Mar. 2011, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17524032.2013.802704.
- British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association. (2015). Nature Playgrounds. Healthy in Nature. http://www.bcrpa.bc.ca/hin/natureplaygrounds.pdf
- McGlinchy, Audrey. “Austin Looks to Ditch Pastel Playscapes in Favor of a More Natural Look.” KUT, 4 Jan. 2016, kut.org/post/austin-looks-ditch-pastel-playscapes-favor-more-natural-look.
- Shamsuddin, M. “Children’s Experiencing Outdoor Environment: A Concept Framework on Cognitive, Affection and Evaluation.” Academia.edu, www.academia.edu/2490889/Children_s_experiencing_outdoor_Environment_A_concept_framework_on_Cognitive_Affection_and_Evaluation.
- Moore, R. and Young, D. (1978), Childhood Outdoors: Toward a Social Ecology of the Landscape In: Altman, I and Wohlwill J, Children andThe Environment: Human Behavior and Environment, Advances inTheory and Research, Volume 3, Plenum Press, New York and London
- Passi, Gouri Rao. “News In Brief.” Nature Deficit Disorder, vol. 46, 17 Sept. 2009.
