After school, would you rather have them lie on the ground and observe the caterpillars, or would you rather have them build blocks at home?
The weekend is coming, are you going to take your children hiking in the mountains, or are you going to read and draw with your children at home?
Would your children prefer to stay in the natural environment or in the artificial environment?
Whether the child plays indoors or outdoors may seem like a small thing. However, letting children live in a clean, orderly, and intelligent artificial environment for a long time may not be the best love for them.
Under the influence of moving, illness, further education, epidemic, electronic devices and other factors, children's time in nature has decreased dramatically, and they are more likely to have psychological and physical problems such as depression, attention deficit, and obesity. Moreover, these problems do not disappear on their own over time, but become "natural absence barriers".
What happened to children who have been indoors for a long time?
I once met a teenager who became depressed because he was away from nature during counseling, and this is his story. (Note: In order to protect the privacy of visitors, the information and work content of visitors have been obfuscated, and authorization has been obtained from visitors and parents.) ）
12-year-old Little A was pushed to the consultation room by his parents.
The reason for their visit is not new: Primary A's, in sixth grade, have dropped sharply in mock exams, leaving parents very anxious that their children will not be able to progress to key middle schools. To this end, Xiao A's parents enrolled him in 3 extracurricular "promotion classes" and moved to the "old and dilapidated" school district house closer to the school.
But in this way, Little A's grades did not rise but fell, falling from the top 10 in the class to the middle and lower reaches.
Parents believe that their children may be able to improve their grades through counseling.
In the communication with Xiao A, I gradually learned that before going to school, he always squatted in the corner of the community to watch the ants move; When he was in elementary school, he often went to the forest park with his classmates and saw spider webs, beetle fights, and green phoenix butterflies courting...
But an accidental drop in grades made Xiao A's parents feel anxious. Parents began to strictly limit the time Xiao A spent playing outdoors, and Little A's daily life became a two-point line between school and home, often staring out the window in a daze and distracted.
After that, Xiao A's daily activities also became less, he was not interested in eating, he couldn't sleep well, and the whole person was listless.
Unfortunately, almost all that Little A gets from his parents is criticism of his academic status and test scores.
The situation of Little A is basically a "natural deficiency disorder".
But he is by no means alone.
As early as 2013, a report by the Shanghai Oasis Ecological Conservation and Exchange Center pointed out that among the more than 1,300 children surveyed, 12.4% of the children had a tendency to have natural deficit disorders, such as poor concentration, poor emotional regulation and environmental adaptability, and lack of curiosity about nature [1].
Away from nature, the problem is worse than thought The concept of "nature absence disorder" was proposed by Richard Louv in his 2008 book The Last Child in the Woods. In his book, Love emphasizes that natural deficit disorder is not a condition that requires a doctor's diagnosis or medication, but a dangerous phenomenon in today's society [2].
Sound a little illusory and a little mysterious? Does nature really have such a clear impact on people's health?
Yes, there have been quite a few studies that have given an affirmative answer.
The researchers quantified changes in attention in 17 children after moving from a low-quality natural environment to a high-quality natural environment. The results showed that the children's cognitive ability and ability to concentrate increased by 19% compared with before the move [3].
What if you move your child's classroom directly into the natural environment?
The researchers divided 37 kindergarten children into two groups and learned in indoor classrooms and outdoor nature classrooms.
After six weeks, the researchers found that children who studied indoors had 33 percent more redirected behaviors than those who learned outdoors — meaning that children who studied indoors had a harder time concentrating and were more likely to wander from the task at hand [9].
On the left is an indoor classroom; On the right is an outdoor nature classroom, children sitting on a carpet, surrounded by tires, potted plants, tree stumps丨References[8]
There are also clear benefits for adults from exposure to the natural environment.
The researchers divided 112 college students into two groups and participated in tasks in the natural environment and the urban environment [4].
The study found that:
After increasing blood pressure through exercise, participants who walked in nature had more blood pressure, and those who could see trees had lower blood pressure – often meaning a more relaxed state;
People who walk in the natural environment have more positive emotions than those who walk in the city, and the mood changes before and after the walk are more significant;
Anger and aggression decreased after walking in nature reserves, but increased after walking in the city.
The reason for this is not metaphysics.
From a biological point of view, people instinctively get closer to lush forests and natural earthy smells than reinforced concrete cities. Contact with nature is a healthy environmental exposure for humans that feels intimate and relaxed [5].
Children playing by the stream丨Wikimedia commons/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
From a psychological point of view, exposure to the natural environment makes us feel less stressed.
When we see the natural environment, the less utilized areas of our brain are activated, attention is diverted from the stressor, and our inner sense of urgency is reduced a lot [6, 7]—after all, there are few things in nature that can make people feel stressed, and this gives the brain time to "refresh" and "upgrade".
Facing the sea, I don't want to do anything about wikimedia commons/brookie
Who took nature away from children? But today's children spend too little time in nature, too little! Take the example of a third-grade student in a primary school in Beijing today. Under the comprehensive influence of academic pressure, the impact of the epidemic, and electronic devices, children can walk and jump rope in the community park for about 0.5 hours a day after school; the time spent playing in nearby parks on weekends ranges from 1 hour to half a day; and they can go to Beijing's Huairou Yanqing and other suburbs for about 3 days during summer vacation. That's almost the entire time a 10-year-old student can be in contact with nature, and it's built on the availability of dual-career parents. Who and what is it that makes a child's life lack nature?
1. Parental pressure is transmitted to children
Let's go back to the story of Little A. Little A's troubles are not entirely the fault of his parents.
In communicating with this family, I strongly felt the great social pressure behind the young parents. Even if parents very much want their children to grow up happy and worry-free, the pressure on themselves is still transmitted to the parent-child relationship:
- My parents worked hard for many years to buy a school district house, so their academic expectations for Little A became higher;
- My friends' children have signed up for seven or eight interest classes, and my children can't be left behind;
- Hope that the son Jackie Chan, parents hope that Little A can go to a better university, maybe the pressure of life in the future can be less;
- ……
This is the epitome of many families. Under such social pressure, playing games and relaxing for fun are not encouraged, and being close to nature has become a luxury.
2. The concept of natural danger
With the process of urbanization, the natural environment is increasingly considered a "place full of danger". Toxic organisms, geological disasters, and turbulent currents are dangerous, but we also seem to be too wary of non-toxic flora and fauna, and terrain that can avoid danger. There's a conversation in the documentary "Little Boys," "Why do you like bugs?" "Because his family didn't scare him."
Not all children are naturally afraid of insects, and not all bugs are dangerous
3. Children take the initiative to stay away from nature
Many children themselves choose to stay away from nature. Compared with the happiness obtained in nature, the happiness brought by short videos and games is faster and more feedback. For most children and adolescents, getting through games brings more sense of accomplishment than observing natural activities such as insects.
Smartphone addiction for 2-year-olds is nothing new丨Wikimedia Commons/Andi Graf
Today's parents are basically dual-career workers, and their children are raised by their grandparents. The elderly with children often use more affection and less reason [7]. If the child already wants to stay at home and play games, many elderly people are unwilling or difficult to intervene.
What can dual-career parents do during the pandemic? I understand my parents' difficulties: going out in the morning, returning home in the evening, and sometimes working overtime on weekends; There is basically no long vacation to accompany children; Since the epidemic, let alone traveling around the country, sometimes it is difficult to get out of the community. But as a parent, you may want to try the following suggestions to build a better relationship with nature, improve your child's concentration and well-being.
Buy nature picture books and books for your child, such as "Chimpanzee Pranks", "Little Gibbons Go to Kindergarten" and "Sounds of Nature" series of picture books.
Seize every opportunity to observe nature, such as the ant hole under the willow trees in the community, the bird's nest on the roof, and the wonderful corner of the forest.
Create a natural corner with your children at home, you can grow family potted plants, water lilies, vegetables, goldfish, turtles, ants, etc.; Some children's books and magazines have introduced them, and you can take your child to read them together.
Take your child or let the child participate in regular, organized extracurricular activities, such as forest camping, nature museum excursions, etc.
Practice mindfulness with your child to feel the wind blowing, listen to the sound of blades rubbing, and explore new ways to feel your surroundings.
Speaking of which, how is our little A classmate?
Xiao A's family has slowly realized what contact with nature means to Xiao A.
After a frank discussion with her parents, Little A had 10 minutes to go outdoors every day; At the same time, the parents agreed that Xiao A could use 20 minutes a day to browse the relevant information of insects and the natural environment, and use natural white noise to help sleep.
It's magical, and maybe it's not magical.
Soon, Little A's sleep improved, and there was less distraction in class. Little A can try to re-engage in learning, and has also gained recognition from his parents.
Little A's mother also said to Little A recently: "You can make a plan with us, and then go to the park downstairs to play according to your plan." ”
You push open the window facing nature, and the knot may open.
Article source丨Fruit shell Editor丨Li Xiaokui Title picture丨Pixabay
Bibliography丨
[1] Zhou Yi, "12.4% of children have a tendency to 'natural deficit disorder'", China Youth Daily, May 16, 2013, 06[2]Louv, R. (2008). Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. Algonquin books.
[3] Wells, N. M. (2000). At home with nature: Effects of “greenness” on children’s cognitive functioning. Environment and behavior, 32(6), 775-795. [4] Hartig, T., Evans, G. W., Jamner, L. D., Davis, D. S., & Gärling, T. (2003). Tracking restoration in natural and urban field settings. Journal of environmental psychology, 23(2), 109-123. [5] Buss, D. M. (1995). Evolutionary psychology: A new paradigm for psychological science. Psychological inquiry, 6(1), 1-30. [6] Frumkin, H. (2001). Beyond toxicity: human health and the natural environment. American journal of preventive medicine, 20(3), 234-240. [7] Largo-Wight, E. (2011). Cultivating healthy places and communities: evidenced-based nature contact recommendations. International journal of environmental health research, 21(1), 41-61. [8]刘铁芳. (2012).自然教育的要义与教育可能性的重建. 当代教育论坛(01),1-11. [9] Largo-Wight, E., Guardino, C., Wludyka, P. S., Hall, K. W., Wight, J. T., & Merten, J. W. (2018). Nature contact at school: The impact of an outdoor classroom on children’s well-being. International journal of environmental health research, 28(6), 653-666. [10]段飞艳& 李静. (2012).近十年国内外隔代教养研究综述. 上海教育科研(04),13-16.
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