Parenting can be difficult, especially when you're new to it. According an article on Brain Development from the infant information website Zero to Three, "a child's brain undergoes an amazing period of development from birth to three (years old) - producing 700 new neural connections every second; this growing brain development is influenced by many factors, including a child's relationships, experience and environment." The focus of this posting will be of a child's environment during their first few years. To begin, there are several hundred differences in the homes of the 1990's during which I was raised and the homes of 2016. During the 1990's, in-home computers were new and bulky much like the televisions; cell phones all had antennas and touch screens were a dream of the future. The future is here now though and in the average middle-class household one can find televisions less thick than a fist, tablets and smartphones that will answer you when spoken to and reply to your touch on their smooth screens. In addition to this, there are more than 10 different models of video gaming systems available that have the potential of creating an addiction in the early years of a child's life, causing them to spend much more time indoors than their parents ever did.
In response to this, the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) teamed up with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) to create the 10 Million Kids Outdoors campaign. According to NRPA, "children are spending just minutes per day learning and playing outdoors and more than seven sedentary hours per day in front of electronic media." In addition to this, the continue to say that in "the last two decades: child obesity rates have more than doubled, more children are Vitamin-D deficient, the United States has become the largest consumer of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medications in the world, and the use of antidepressants in pediatric patients has risen sharply. Studies point to sedentary and indoor lifestyles as contributing factors in these alarming trends." This campaign is therefore designed to encourage kids to spend more time outdoors which will help improve their health and wellness and give them an appreciation for nature.
Bethany with Tobias, surfing for his first birthday, in Fiji. Picture Source
Bethany Hamilton, a professional surfer and mother to a one-year-old named Tobias, embraces this idea of outdoor adventuring in what she and her husband, Adam, call "free-range parenting". This method of parenting involves taking her son on hikes through the mountains of Hawaii where they live, down to the beach, across the globe as she travels to surf and onto the water as she passes her passion along to her cub. As of lately, more parents have started to realize how beneficial exposure to nature can be at an early age and have decided to enroll their children in what is called "Forest Kindergartens". This idea originated in Germany and after seeing how successful this form of kindergarten was, it came to the United States with the first one, Cedarsong Nature School, being located in Vashon Island, Washington. Kindergartens such as these take away the walls and explore the interests of the children while allowing them to gain confidence in their abilities. Unlike indoor kindergartens, children are also exposed to the elements which opens a great amount of opportunities for teaching about the Earth while they experience it firsthand rather than in a textbook. Below is a video showing the original German kindergarten in action.
It's easy for a parent to immediately reject the idea of these Forest Kindergartens once they hear that their children will be using knives and fire but with a 4:1 student to teacher ratio, there is essentially nothing to worry about. The great outdoors are an essential ingredient in childhood. At 21 years old I still have vivid memories of walking through the Pine Barrens (a forest of pine trees) when I was 4 years old, where I would wander around all day and find these ti-pi's that local artists created out of fallen branches. Also because of this, the smell of pine creates pleasant memories and feelings of nostalgia for me that I cherish considering I live so far away from the favorite forest of mine. In addition to this, my parents took me camping as often as they could, which is probably where my love and respect for nature started. The woods are my second home and all of the exposure I had to nature growing up has really helped shape who I am and helped me learn what I want to do with my life.
Hadlie, 3 years old, rock climbing in Arizona. Picture Source
I'm certainly not the only one who understands the importance of this intimate connection between humans and nature, especially in the developing child. An absolutely amazing project, the Born Wild Project, is a campaign founded by a nature-loving mother Morgan Brechler and her daughter, Hadlie. Since Hadlie was born, Morgan and her have been hiking and rock climbing all over the west coast and have even adventured to Mexico and Hawaii! The goal of the Born Wild Project is to "empower families to raise children who are connected with wilderness and wildness". Morgan herself says "I want Hadlie to appreciate life and I don't think there's any better way for her to learn, grow and have gratitude than to be friends with Mother Earth." I couldn't agree more. What I find to be very wise is that she doesn't bring Hadlie into nature just to do some rock climbing or go on extensive hikes, she also goes into nature to do everyday activities that kids enjoy, like swimming, playing with toy horses, painting and napping. At almost four years old, Hadlie shows signs of great confidence, independence and strength which are characteristics every child has the potential of possessing so long as they stay as wild as they were born.
My next post will be about activities that one can do in the great outdoors, most of which kids can also participate in. I will also provide places (in Florida) at which some of these activities can be done (such as kayak rentals).
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