Where to go
Community parks, the MetroParks and, even, backyards can offer a perfect outdoor play space. If you’re looking for a place where the kids can let loose for a bit, you might want to start here:
The Children's Garden at Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark is a great place to start if you are a bit unsure or just want a beautiful place to discover with your children. Don't forget to explore the nearby trails and the shore of the Stillwater River. This area is also a great spot to access the local bike trails.
Two other MetroParks are especially accommodating for nature play as they have a mix of traditional playground structures and free-range nature play areas with stick forts, small waterways and woodlands. Englewood MetroPark near Paddy's Shelter and Hills and Dales MetroPark near White Oak Camp both offer nature play areas.
Learn more
Visit www.metroparks.org to discover additional nature play areas as well as find general family and youth programs to help your family get into the habit of exploring and playing in nature.
Visit the Children and Nature Network to find out more about the benefits of nature clubs for families at www.childrenandnature.org/movement/naturalfamilies/.
Miami Valley Leave No Child Inside will be promoting activities and books that families can use as inspiration to go outside and play with a monthly post on its Facebook Page Get Out In Nature!
Children running, climbing and exploring from dawn till dusk might well sound like a thing of the past, but local community organizers are hoping to revive this trend.
Five Rivers MetroParks is one local organization that has prioritized connecting kids with nature.
“Kids are hungry to discover more about nature” said Doug Horvath, Five Rivers MetroParks education supervisor. “Independent, outdoor play allows children to become builders, engage in more imaginative free time and helps to make them healthier and smarter.”
From reducing ADHD symptoms and alleviating depression to increasing creativity and enhancing social skills, regular time spent in nature can have a profound effect on children. But research has shown that young people, ages 8-18, spend more than seven hours a day as media consumers (watching television, using the computer, playing video games or on their phone). And less than 10 percent of children ages 9 to 13 play outdoors on their own. The result of these societal trends has been dubbed “nature deficit disorder” by Richard Louv, an author and co-founder of the national Children & Nature Network.
“We are in a crisis,” Horvath said. “There is a long, social trend of children and adults who are outside less and less. And, at the core, it’s a children’s health issue.”
Go out and play
Many adults might remember their parents uttering those very words on warm summer afternoons. But, today, if kids are outside, it’s more likely that they are participating in an organized sport like baseball or soccer than climbing trees or jumping in puddles.
“Free play — not structured and not organized — offers the opportunity to be creative,” Horvath said. “It also helps with social development. There is also a certain amount of risk taking which is a good thing because kids can learn from it.”
Organizations such as the MetroParks and the Miami Valley Leave No Child Inside Network are working to eliminate the disconnect between families and nature.
And, after a long, cold winter, the upcoming spring thaw might be a perfect time to reconnect with the great outdoors.
Getting started
Horvath offers some advice for parents who want their kids to be healthier, happier and smarter by encouraging them to spend more free time playing outdoors.
Have a good fun attitude and be willing to allow play that results in some muddy shoes. Help your child dress right in comfortable play clothes that are appropriate for the weather. Give them encouragement and help them with some outside discovery play.
Have a place where children can go. Backyards for young children are ideal. If you want it to be more interesting add sticks, dig in the dirt, create a watery spot, even mud.
Once you want to explore beyond your backyard, many parks are now encouraging nature play areas where stick fort building, climbing trees, digging in the dirt or playing in creeks is encouraged.
“There is no better teacher than mother nature,” Horvath said. “The more we can spread the message and facilitate locations for children to explore, the more we help to inspire them to find a connection with nature.”
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