Research shows that traditional outdoor activities such as climbing trees, playing in the mud and making daisy chains are becoming a thing of the past as children instead spend their time playing computer games, watching TV or just hanging out with friends.
In a recent study it shockingly showed that two thirds of today’s children had never made a daisy chain and more then 40% had never squelched through mud. Animal spotting is also becoming less popular with many children saying they have never looked for birds and just 35% have gone searching for insects.
The average child spends just 5 hours a week playing outside, less than half the 11 hours their parents’ generation enjoyed. This demonstrates that youngsters are missing out getting dirty in the mud and puddles or simply spending time in the fresh air. Plenty of research has shown that children exposed to nature perform better at school.
These traditional activities can be a great way of encouraging children to spend more time outdoors, get more exercise and create more memories then they will get from simply sitting in front of a computer or TV screen.