We all know how beneficial contact with nature is. Who does not return as new after one or several days away from "civilization"? However, our day to day takes us further and further away from natural spaces. Life in big cities, obligations and the development of new technologies make us increasingly disconnected from nature. Children, who once played climbing trees or stepping on puddles when coming back from school, today spend hours in front of tablet or mobile screens being deprived of the stimuli provided by outdoor play.
The relationship with nature is ideal for our children to experience and discover how the world works through their own experiences. In this way, live and direct learning is favored. In addition, it is a way of generating defenses, since contact with land, water and animals makes them more resistant to pathogenic microorganisms. Children who grow up in contact with nature are less stressed, more aware and respectful of the environment, and more balanced both physically and emotionally. However, I recognize that between the daily whirlwind and the competition generated by new technologies, it may seem difficult to regain that connection with nature. So today I bring some ideas to awaken a love for nature in your children.
How to get children to feel connected with nature?
To love something you must first know it. So, If we want our children to learn to care for, respect and value nature, the best we can do is let them be in contact with it. The ideal would be to live in a natural environment or at least be able to visit it regularly. But not all of us are that lucky, so we have to look for alternatives.
- Start by familiarize your children with the natural things in their environment. Try to go out as much as possible to parks, gardens or a nearby natural space. Let them run, experiment, and get dirty. You can observe the birds, flowers, trees, insects or anything that arouses your interest.
- Help them get to know the plants and flowers. Plant some pots or a mini garden at home. Show them their parts, their uses, the care they need, the names. Let them discover how they are born, grow and what care they need to live. You can plant seeds or create a mini garden to observe the whole process.
- Whenever you can go for a walk in the countryside, the sea or the mountains. You can go hiking on weekends, go camping, ride a bike or go on a picnic. Surely both children and adults will enjoy it very much.
- You can visit a farm or eco-reserve. Luckily there are more and more spaces dedicated to allowing children to observe and even participate in activities such as milking a cow, riding a horse or catching freshly laid eggs.
- Help them to become aware of seasonal changes. You can celebrate the arrival of the solstices and equinoxes with a ritual that you invent, making a mural, collecting natural materials to decorate or cooking a seasonal dish.
- Show them the importance of maintaining our natural heritage. The damages of pollution, the importance of recycling and giving things a second useful life, how to preserve the environment, etc.
- Let your children play with water, mud, climb trees, get wet in the rain or jump in puddles. Do not worry about the clothes, a dirty child is a child who has enjoyed.
- Proportional occasions for them to approach the animal world. Dogs, cats, birds, insects, snails, etc. That they know their needs and ways of life learning to love and respect them.
- Show them examples on the transformation of nature like weather changes, cold, rain, drought, etc.
- Take advantage of any occasion to connect with the natural. A starry night or a full moon, a walk on the beach collecting shells, a country walk observing flora and fauna.
- you can also attend activities that involve nature conservation. Surely near you reforestations, beach or river cleanings, etc. are carried out.
I hope these little ideas help you to sow, in children, the seed of love for nature. But don't forget that you are the best example for them, So what are you waiting for? Forget your mobile or tablet and go out to enjoy nature with your children. I assure you that, even if there is no Wi-Fi, you will not be able to find a better connection.