Children’s Connection to nature brings less distress, hyperactivity and behavioral problems

City lifestyle has been criticized for being an important reason for children being disconnected from nature. This has led to an unhealthy lifestyle in regard to active play and eating habits. Even worse, many young children do not feel well psychologically—they are often stressed and depressed. According to a 2017 study 22 per cent of preschoolers in major cities show signs of mental health problems.
        
Recent research shows that spending time in nature may bring many health benefits, and many environmental programs around the world are trying to decrease ‘nature-deficit’ and ‘child-nature disconnectedness’ in order to improve children’s health. For example, the WHO, in order to monitor implementation of the Parma Declaration commitment to providing every child with access to “green spaces to play and        undertake physical activity”, has set a 300-meter target.
        
Interestingly, even in such a crowded place as Hong Kong 90 per cent of the population lives within 400 meters of such areas. However, despite the extensive, adjacent greenness, families are not using these areas.
        
What the researchers say: “We noticed a tendency where parents are avoiding nature. They perceive it as dirty and dangerous, and their children unfortunately pick up these attitudes. In addition, the green areas are often unwelcoming with signs like ‘Keep off the grass,’ said the lead author.” Until now, it has not been possible to measure connectedness to nature in preschool children, mostly due to the fact that they are too young to answer for        themselves.”
        
For the study a new 16-item parent questionnaire measuring “connectedness to nature in very young children” was developed by the multinational team of researchers. The questionnaire identified four areas that reflect the child-nature relationship: enjoyment of nature, empathy for nature, responsibility towards nature, and awareness of nature.
        
The study consisted of two parts: the initial interviews with the families and the subsequent development of the questionnaire. Altogether, 493 families with children aged between 2 and 5 participated. Finally, the new questionnaire was tested against the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, a well-established measurement of psychological well-being and children’s behavior problems. The results revealed children who had a closer connection        with nature had less distress, less hyperactivity, & fewer behavioral and emotional difficulties, and improved pro-social behavior. Interestingly, children who took greater responsibility towards the nature had fewer peer difficulties. “The results give a new possibility for investigating the link between the outdoor environment and well-being in pre-school children,” say the researchers.
        
The findings have been published the journal, PLOS ONE. The new scale has already attracted international attention and is being adopted by universities worldwide.
        
So, what? Time in nature has been shown to benefit both adults and children. Proximity to nature is known (see past TRs) to lead to increased learning and productivity in the workforce, and a reduction in the symptoms of ADHD in both adults and kids.
        
A study completed about 10 years ago showed that just having potted plants in an office environment led to less depressive illness and increased stress reduction. Another more recent study showed that the overall level of depression increases with each element of nature that disappears from a neighborhood. Working or living in tall buildings cut off from nature has been shown to increase stress, reduce productivity and increase mood disorders.
        
What are we doing to ourselves and our children?                                                     

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