This post will deal with those children that need the great outdoors to stretch their wings and fly. Many, many articles in the early childhood world these days deal with the need to get children back to nature. The information contained in those articles applies to these children.
Helicopter Parenting and Outdoor Play
It is a sad sign of our times that children do not play outside anywhere near as much as they did when I was a child. Many factors actually contribute to this trend. What I see as the largest trend is not discussed as much as some of the others. Many people will say that it just is not safe to play outside anymore. Unless you live in the really bad neighborhoods of some cities, that is not necessarily true. The crime rate from when I was a child was not much different from today. In some ways it might have been worse because the national spotlight had not been cast on some issues such as sexual abuse and pedophiles. What changed then? Parenting styles constitute the largest difference between when I was a child and now. Helicopter parenting did not exist in such force back in the 60s and 70s (I know I just revealed my age). Children were expected to grow up a little faster in many ways. Parents taught children about dangers and expected the children to learn better. Parents today try to shield children from all danger. Therefore children today do not have the same survival skills that children back then had. Outside constitutes too many dangers for helicopter parents. Therefore, outside time is limited to when the parents can be there to supervise. Structured outside activities have replaced free play outside for these very reasons.
What Has this Shift Done to our Children?
All you have to do is read the enormous amount of research that has come to the surface recently to know that lack of outside free play activity is an underlying cause for much of what ails our children today from the obesity epidemic to the massive uptick in attention deficit disorders. The research screams about the importance of free unstructured play in outdoor settings. This type of activity seems to reset children's biological rhythms. It also teaches children how to have realistic expectations. We do not let children learn from natural consequences anymore, and it is effecting their balance, large motor skills, and fine motor skills. Children today injure themselves more often than children from my day even though we played on the horrible unsafe equipment. We learned our limitations at an earlier age and respected natural forces. These lessons can only be learned through trial and error. Helicopter parenting does not allow children to learn these types of lessons. We as a society have created the problem. Now how do we fix it?
Back Off, Parents
The fix for helicopter parenting is simple. Back off. Stop scheduling your child's day down to the last minute. Let your child go outside and play without constantly hovering. Teach your child the dangers and actually expect your child to listen to you. Do not freak out every single time your child gets a bruise, scrape, or cut. In my day, we wore those as battle scars to be bragged about. Give your child space and time to just be. The long term benefits of this is beyond measure.
The Bell Curve
Now that I have dealt with why children today do not go outside enough, I want to turn my attention to those children that really blossom in the great outdoors. However, before I go there I need to discuss the bell curve. In case you have never had statistics, let me explain what the bell curve means. The bell curve in the natural phenomenon that happens when you take a survey of a population. Most of the people will fall in or around the center and a few will fall into the far extremes. In a diagram this looks like a huge wave. I brought this up because when dealing with the different learning styles especially the ones that are true opposites like indoor and outdoor learning, most people will fall in the middle of the bell curve and have leanings toward both styles. Only a few will fall into the far extremes that have no tendency for the opposite style. Therefore, 3/4 of the population will have varying degrees of a style ranging from some to completely dominant. Only 1/4 will have very little or none. I said all that to make the point that 3/4 of the population has some to a great deal of need for outdoor learning.
Detox Time
Many children only need outdoor activity to reset their natural rhythms. These children can still function well in indoor settings for most learning activities. They simply need detox time. However, this detox time makes the indoor learning far more productive. One of the most ridiculous ideas to come down the pike in public education has been the removal of recess. Free play recess has been replaced by structured activity overseen by adults (helicopter parenting). This structured activity does take place outdoors, but where is the detox time that so many children need? They do not get it.
Outdoor Learners
For some children indoor learning can be very hard. These are the children that need the outdoor learning more than others. Something about the spaciousness of the outdoors calms these children. Indoors they feel confined and caged. They blossom in the outdoors. These children are the next generation of farmers, forest rangers, environmental scientists, etc. Many professions call on people that thrive in an outdoor setting. When it becomes apparent to you that one of your children thrives in the outdoors, do everything in your power to provide as much outdoor unstructured free play activity for that child as possible. Sometimes this cannot be accomplished in a childcare setting because we must balance the needs of everyone. However, communicate to that child's parents about the importance of providing these types of activities for that child.
Lay the Ground Rules
Before I leave this subject I want to talk about how little children know about playing outdoors these days. Often, when we take children outside, they sit down and begin to immediately complain. Sometimes we have entire groups of children that have no idea how to play outside. If this is the case for you, start prodding those children into activities but please resist the urge to take over completely with structured activities. They need to learn to play by themselves outside. They will never learn if you always do it for them. Provide different materials, show them how to use the materials, and back off. Usually one or two of the children will start to play, and the others will follow. However, some children will persist in sitting down and complaining. You will have to make that be an inappropriate choice. Even indoor learners need some time outdoors. They can do quiet activities, but they do not need to complain. Complaining should never be considered an appropriate use of anyone's time.
I hope you have enjoyed this post. Goodbye and God bless!!
Check out Natalie's children's books at: https://www.amazon.com/author/nataliewade7457
No comments:
Post a Comment