"As a family we spend as much time as possible outdoors. We try to make being outside as interesting as possible for the children by making dens in the bushes, creating games using our imagination, picking strawberries and looking for creepy crawlies under rocks and stones. I try to teach my kids to see the beauty in natural things, as well as showing them how to appreciate the importance of wildlife for a healthy garden. Our gardens can become a place of refuge for our threatened wildlife, and the children can gradually learn how important nature is whilst having fun at the same time"
Caryn Franklin
"My daughters and I always play a game which involves giving marks out of 10 to front gardens. This allows for us to talk about unusual plants, pretty flowers, butterflies, insects and birds that visit a front garden when it is full of plants. Now their pet hate just like mine is seeing front gardens that are concreted over with nothing but bins or cars in them!"
Lowri Turner
"I have always lived in a big city, so 'nature' isn't on my doorstep. However, it's amazing what you can discover if you walk slowly around your own neighbourhood. My sons love looking for spiders and other creepy crawlies; we get very excited when we find a wood louse! Kids are fascinated with worms and parents should encourage this fascination and not teach them insects are disgusting. Kids can learn as much from watching a caterpillar on a leaf as they do from a trip to the zoo. I always let them bring leaves, sticks and pebbles home"
87% of mums always encourage their kids to play outside and 60% of mums get into the outdoors by going on family nature walks. Three quarters of mums (74%) encourage their kids to grow plants and flowers in window boxes and gardens to understand how nature works. However sometimes it is not so easy to get kids to play in nature so 70% of mums devise fun, outdoor nature games for their kids to play in summer.
Below some British mums share their own tips on how they get their own kids involved with nature:
"The kids own a section of the garden in which they can grow and plant whatever they like. We give them 100% control over to so they take it very seriously and nurture everything that grows there."
"Hunt the slug is a great game for the kids to play, we search for and move all the slugs to one end of the garden. It gets the kids outside, in contact with nature and it moves the slugs away from my plants which stops them from eating my lovely plants!"
"Making things out of natural things is one of our favourite pastimes, using things we 've found on walks like pine cones, shells, acorns and leaves etc"
Nearly all of the mums (93%) questioned believe kids benefit hugely from being inspired by nature, emotionally, physically, and mentally. Mums must be doing a good job of educating their families about nature as 70% of mums questioned say their kids understand the benefits of nature.
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August 2006 |
