Think back to your own childhood. Chances are, some of your fondest memories are of outdoor activities and places. Perhaps you had a favorite climbing tree or secret hiding place. Maybe you remember jumping rope or learning to turn cartwheels with your best friend or playing fetch with the family dog. Do you recall the smell of lilacs, the feel of the sun on the first day warm enough to take off your jacket, or the taste of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich eaten on a blanket in the park? Did you enjoy lying on your back and finding creatures in the clouds?

Now ask yourself: Dont I want my child to have similar memories? Wonderful, happy memories?

Unfortunately, a great many of todays children will grow up without such fond memories because todays children spend far less time outdoors than did previous generations. According to William Doherty of the University of Minnesota, over the last twenty years there has been a 25 percent decline in the time children spend playing and a 50 percent decline in time spent in unstructured outdoor activities.

It is unfortunate because when children spend most of their time indoors, theyll not just be missing out on memories but also on everything else the outdoors has to offer them.

To begin with, the outdoors is the best place for young children to practice and master emerging physical skills and to experience the pure joy of movement. Its also the place where theyre likely to burn the most calories, which is absolutely necessary in the fight against obesity.

Also, the outside light stimulates the pineal gland, which is the part of the brain that helps regulate the biological clock, is vital to the immune system, and simply makes us feel happier. Outside light triggers the synthesis of vitamin D. And a number of studies have demonstrated that it increases academic learning and productivity!

Young children learn much through their senses, and the outdoors is a virtual wonderland for the senses. There are different and incredible things for the children to see (insects, clouds, and shadows), to hear (traffic sounds, birdsongs, leaves rustling in the wind), to smell (flowers and the rain-soaked ground), to touch (a fuzzy caterpillar or the bark of a tree), and even to taste (newly fallen snow, a raindrop, or a freshly picked blueberry). Children who spend much of their time acquiring experiences through television, computers, and even books are using only two senses (hearing and sight), and this can seriously affect their perceptual abilities. Additionally, much of this learning, which falls under the content area of science, cant be acquired indoors. Nor can children who spend most of their time indoors be expected to learn to care for the environment.

Outside, children are more likely to invent games. As they do, theyre able to express themselves and learn about the world in their own way. They feel safe and in control, which promotes autonomy, decision making, and organizational skills. Inventing rules for games promotes an understanding of why rules are necessary. And although children are just playing to have fun, they learn:

* communication skills and vocabulary, as they invent, modify, and enforce rules;

* number relationships, as they keep score and count; and

* social skills, as they learn to play together.

Then, too, theres the aesthetic value of the outdoors. Because the natural world is filled with amazing sights, sounds, and textures, its the perfect resource for the development of aesthetics in young children. Since aesthetic awareness means a heightened sensitivity to the beauty around us, its something that can serve children well at those times when, as adolescents and adults, the world seems less than beautiful.

Further, Mary Rivkin, author of The Great Outdoors: Restoring Childrens Right to Play Outside, tells us there is on very basic reason that children need to experience being outside: humans evolved in the outdoors. They thus have a link with nature that cant be replaced in fact, will be atrophied by technology. She asks if, lacking intimate association with nature, we can still be human!

Children learn their values from the important adults in their lives. When theyre not encouraged to go outdoors, they learn sedentary habits not easily changed and, more unfortunately, that the outdoor environment is of little significance.

Rae Pica

Rae Pica has been a children’s physical activity specialist for 25 years. A former adjunct instructor with the University of New Hampshire, she is the author of 14 books, including the text Experiences in Movement, the Moving & Learning Series, and Your Active Child, written for the parents of children birth to eight. Rae is nationally known for her workshops and keynotes and has shared her expertise with such groups as the Sesame Street Research Department, the Head Start Bureau, Centers for Disease Control, Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues, and numerous state health departments throughout the country. Rae served on the task force of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) that created Active Start: A Statement of Physical Activity Guidelines for Children Birth to Five Years. She is also the author of “Kids in Action,” a booklet of movement activities parents can do at home with their children, sponsored by Kellogg, NASPE, and the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.