The fall is a beautiful season to get some bonding time with your child outdoors. The weather is not too hot and it’s not too cold; plus, with the falling leaves and changing weather conditions, there’s plenty to keep your child entertained outside. Here are some of the benefits for exploring nature with your child this fall.
Exploring Nature is Good for Mental Health
Mental health is a key topic of discussion in today’s world. With social media and a pandemic, life can understandably be stressful for your young ones. Make sure to let them unwind with some outdoor time. The fall presents a perfect time to get bungled up and explore nature — especially with the falling leaves and beautiful scenery!
There are plenty of options to choose from beyond a nature walk. You can go camping or hiking, visit a nearby park or nature preserve, or even explore the backyard at night with flashlights. Get back to basics and enjoy nature as it was meant to be enjoyed: by being outside!
Children also experience many mental health benefits. Exploring nature can help children develop healthy self-esteem by reinforcing their strengths and helping them overcome challenges. Children will also learn more about their bodies by playing outdoors, as running around outside helps regulate hormones such as adrenaline — which is good for mental health issues like depression or anxiety disorders.
In search of a calming outdoor activity that your child can do independently, with a friend, or with the whole family? Try nature drawing! This past summer, LuHi Country Day campers enjoyed nature drawing during some of their art periods. This gave campers the opportunity to be outside observing the beautiful world around them, rest their bodies from a busy, active day, while exercising their creativity!
Improved Physical Health
It goes without saying that exploring nature is great for your child’s physical health. Being outside in nature will expose your child to fresh air, which is beneficial to lung performance as it allows for more oxygen flow in the blood and body, according to CBS Minnesota.
Exercising regularly can also help prevent heart disease, diabetes and cancer by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels; improving blood flow; reducing stress; improving sleep quality; and strengthening muscles. This is extremely beneficial for your young ones who may be into sports or who may have a fleeting interest in partaking in such. It also helps physically prepare your child for summer camp activities here at LuHi!
Exploring Nature Eliminates Screen Time
Every parent knows the struggle of eliminating screen time for their children. As social media, apps, phones, and tablet time consume our children’s lives, it can be hard to unplug. Too much screen time can lead to physical strain on the body, increased risk of obesity, and loss of cognition.
Encouraging your child to get up, be active, and to start exploring nature is a great way to eliminate screen time. If you want your child to be able to enjoy the great outdoors, they need to understand how nature works and what types of adventures they can have out there. You can use this time together as an opportunity for family bonding over something other than technology. Whatever it is that interests your child most in the outdoors, encourage them to explore their own curiosities outside rather than inside on their electronic devices!
Improved Classroom Performance
Exploring nature has been shown to improve academic performance in children. University of Illinois professor Ming Kuo “found strong evidence that time in nature has a rejuvenating effect on attention; relieves stress; boosts self-discipline; increases physical activity and fitness; and promotes student self-motivation, enjoyment, and engagement … And all of these have been shown to improve learning,” per Science Daily.
Taking the time to enjoy nature with your child ultimately gives them mental and physical clarity to take on all the academic tasks classrooms provide!
