This is why kids need to know about nature

Many parents have spent ample time in outdoors, close to nature as children. Climbing trees, exploring rocks and bugs, or playing outdoor games were common in the less cramped lifestyle then. These fun activities contributed in building our brains, bodies, and characters for later life. The discussion below is about the learning we get from nature, and should somehow incorporate in the lives of our kids. 

Intellectual benefits 

Children are natural scientists who love to experience the sights, scents, sounds, and textures of nature and learn from them, just like a laboratory. Nature provides opportunities for discovery, creativity, problem-solving, and STEM education. Everything is built to scale, all life forms are guided by evolution, and they can see physics, chemistry, biology and maths working in real life.  

Emotional benefits 

Nature, whether it’s just sitting in a shaft of sunlight and looking at the sky, or taking a walk in a park, allows kids to relax, let go of their anxiety, calm down, and become more peaceful. Several studies have found that exposure to nature reduces symptoms of ADHD and anxiety. There are many forms of self-expression that are restricted indoors and around people. Kids need to jump, shout, run, and play; these are healthy ways of expression for them. And nature fosters that.  

Social skills 

Nature gives kids the chance to interact with plant and animal life, and learn social skills like kindness, gratitude, love, team work, responsibility and the urge to protect others. A child who goes rock climbing becomes a quick thinker, learns to persist despite failure and becomes more resilient. Even keeping pets make children emotionally stronger.  

Physical benefits 

Whether it’s refreshing our lungs or building more vitamin D from sunlight, nature’s physical benefits hardly need to be listed. The pandemic has taught us again how hugely important it is to strengthen our immune systems and be in touch with nature.  

Consciousness about the environment

It is becoming imperative to raise kids who would think in constructive terms about the world around them. But for that, they need to love the world enough to want to protect it. A child who has seen a forest won’t support cutting trees.