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Go on! It's great outdoors
Lisa Salmon16/ 7/2008
HALF of today's children spend so little time outdoors that they can't tell the difference between a bee and a wasp. And one in three 10-12-year-olds can't identify one of the UK's most common birds, the magpie, or the distinctive Red Admiral butterfly.
However, nine out of 10 could name Doctor Who's arch enemies, the Daleks, and a similar number could identify Star Wars' Jedi Grand Master, Yoda.
The findings, in a survey by the National Trust, are hardly surprising when only one in five of today's children play in the street or in local parks every day.
Yet studies have shown that 80 per cent of children prefer playing outside, and 86 per cent of parents say that on a nice day their children would prefer to go to the park than watch TV.
In a bid to harness this desire to get out and about, the National Trust launched the Take A Fantastic Family Journey Into Space Campaign.
A series of events, including bug hunts and safari trails, is being held at National Trust properties during the coming months. A specially-adapted bus with an outdoor garden on the top deck is also touring the country as a reminder that "for most families, the journey to space is a short one".
"Vital"
National Trust nature conservation adviser Matthew Oates says: "Natural beauty and wildlife are vital to us. The more distanced we become from nature, the more difficult it will be for us to survive on this planet."
TV naturalist Nick Baker describes children's disconnection with nature as a "sad modern phenomenon." He said: "In an age where Nintendos and Playstations compete with tree climbing and pond dipping, the virtual world is winning. Something needs to be done."
The government is investing £225m in outdoor play areas over the next three years as part of its Children's Plan.
It's all because experts say play, particularly when it's outdoors, is crucial to a child's health, and to them gaining vital experiences.
Psychologist Jane Prince says: "Children need to go somewhere where they can test their boundaries. It's very difficult for a child in a constrained place to get a sense of what they can and can't do, and that can produce either very timid children that don't test themselves, or very unrealistic children who are convinced they can do anything."
Exploration can lead to the development of new skills ranging from co-operation with other children, to balancing abilities and learning how to assess risk. She adds: "It's risky in the sense that you can't contain your children when they're playing outside, even if you're with them. But if children don't explore what they can and can't do, they'll never understand the limits or the possibilities of their own environment."
Learn
She says that if they explore the great outdoors with their families, children can both learn to negotiate with others about what they want to do, and appreciate how sometimes other people's rights are paramount to their own.
"It's difficult to learn that when you're interacting with a computer," she says. "When children are outside, they look at things growing, they look at animals and flowers and plants, and touch things. They also learn not to be frightened of nature and that a spider or a worm isn't really that terrifying."
Last year, more than 100 academics, authors and charity leaders signed a letter warning that children's health - particularly their mental health - is suffering because they're losing the chance to play outside.
The letter was organised by child mental health specialist Dr Richard House and author Sue Palmer, who wrote Toxic Childhood: How Modern Life Is Damaging Our Children
Palmer says experiencing the natural world is important for developing personal characteristics like independence, self-confidence and resilience, and says it's vital for parents to have faith in their children's ability to find things to do outside.
"We've been groomed to think that anything that's worth having has to cost money. But the things that really matter for child development don't cost anything. Just take them anywhere, and children will find things to play with."
For more information on family days out at National Trust properties, visit
nationaltrust.org.uk/familydaysout
.
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