Our grandmothers have been pestering us to go play outside for as long as we can remember. And we, increasingly becoming couch potatoes, have been tuning out those suggestions, preferring to spend time in the bed instead. I think it’s time we revisit the suggestions of our grandmothers and step outdoors.
Our connection with nature has been on the decline since technology has ventured into our lives, day by day. Our interaction with screens is probably more than our interaction with humans. Devices are becoming second parents as they become heavily incorporated into the growth process of children.
Recent studies have shown how detrimental these new developments are to a child’s growth. The adverse effects of technology on physical health are common knowledge. Eyesight worsens, lethargy overtakes, body becomes stiff, deficiency of vitamin D and countless other side effects. The effects of techno are not limited to our bodies, and intend on infiltrating our minds as well. The superficial online contact results in isolation from our friends and family. People become lonely and don’t know how to respond to human contact.
We’re so stuck on screens that we forget to live life like it’s meant to be lived.
But since these negatives haven’t caused any changes in our behavior, let’s focus on the positives instead- positives of spending time in nature.
Spending time in nature, right from childhood, boosts creativity and imagination. There is less structure restricting them which allows them to design their own playtime.
Louv says that nature creates a unique sense of wonder for kids that no other environment can provide. Natural phenomena fascinate a kid and open up doors of curiosity. It makes kids question and learn from a young age.
Contact with nature has shown to have a significant positive effect on children’s cognitive affective and moral development. Children living in rural settings with comparatively unrestricted access to nature have shown to have lower levels of behavioral disorders, anxiety and depression.
All in all, nature ingrains qualities like curiosity and creativity, independence and life satisfaction in children from a young age, while also keeping them physically fit. It’s time to start pulling back your curtains, open up our doors and windows and step outside, back into a green tinted world. Nature is what we came from and nature should be the one to nurture us.
