Children and Wild-ness
The homestead that we live and work on here in Haines is a dream that my wife and I have been cultivating and preparing for since we were married nearly 9 years ago. We purchased our cabin and property 3 years ago, and while there have been a myriad of challenges, we find this lifestyle to be an amazing fit for us for many different reasons. The homestead gives us opportunities to ground truth some of our theories about health and wellness. Some of those are specific to our family and others can be generalized and applied to more typical modern lifestyles. One aspect that I wanted to reflect upon in this blog post is the way our lifestyle interfaces with the natural world and the impact it has on our children.
Candace and I have 4 kids all 8 years and under; two boys and two girls. At any given time you will find our kids building forts, using hand tools (Our older two use hatchets, pocket knives, hand planes, saws, hand drills, hammers and nails better than many adults I know), visiting our farm animals, catching toads, riding bikes, climbing trees, shooting BB guns or bow and arrows. In the winter we cross country ski, build snow forts, and run a small trap line. Some of the kid directed projects that have emerged in the past year include tree forts, hand sewn fashion shows, fairs with animal judging courses, dug out canoes and a working cart that on one memorable occasion was pulled by a very ornery goat. We jokingly refer to our progeny as “feral children” because while we provide oversight of their activities, many of their projects are kid-directed and kid-initiated. They have access to lots of scrap wood from our sawmill and a small store of tools that they add to as needed by earning money to purchase what they want. They cut their fingers, get dirty, crash their bikes, get eaten by mosquitos but the amount of creativity and independence they display is gratifying to see as a parent.
While I think my kids are pretty special (who doesn’t?) I think every child has these same wells of untapped creativity that can be unleashed. An article I was reading today put out by the University of Berkley California (https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/six_ways_nature_helps_children_learn) discusses some of the research that has been done on the benefits that interfacing with the natural world has on children. Some of the benefits they discuss are: increased attention capacity, decreased stress, increased self discipline, increased engagement in education when done out of doors, increased physical fitness, and greater social connection and creativity. When I was working in community mental health with families and children, more unstructured outdoor activity was always one of my top prescriptions for ADD and oppositional kids.
As good as interfacing with nature is for kids, it’s just as good for adults. According to WebMD (https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/mental-benefits-of-walking#1) going for a walk has been linked to better sleep, less fatigue, greater endurance, mood improvement, stress relief, decreased anxiety and depression, weight loss and improved cardiovascular health. An article put out by the APA (https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/nurtured-nature) cites improved working memory, cognitive flexibility and better attention as a result of increased exposure to natural environments.
My ever increasing conviction is that optimal human functioning is found is lifestyles and diets from the past. While technology is a wonderful benefit to humanity (I definitely do rely on technology), It’s important to be cognizant of the way that it increasingly pulls us away from our natural God-given rhythms. It is worth considering whether technology’s impact in some places is worth the secondary unwanted impacts it carries. In your journey towards better mental and physical health for you and your family, is there any room for increased exposure to the natural world?
