How to help Hong Kong’s cocooned kids lose their fear of nature and start enjoying the great outdoors
School excursions can be a nightmare for youngsters afraid of what nature can dish up, but parents should encourage their children to join family outings and embrace the fun and benefits of a walk on the wild side
My Year Four son recently went on a school trip walking in the hills, tree planting and gardening. He hated it. He dislikes walking, especially in the heat, and is not confident going up and down steep hills. He also hates insects, especially mosquitoes, and is frightened of snakes. It’s difficult to get him out at the weekends and I don’t know how I can encourage him to enjoy the outdoors.
Life for some children has become very sanitised and city-based. This is a travesty for several reasons. There is strong evidence that being in and around nature helps to ease stress and increase happiness levels. Walking in nature has huge benefits for mental and physical health, not to mention mood and brain function. Research shows that it can improve concentration and lead to positive brain activity, particularly creative thinking.
When spending most of our time in artificial environments such as cities, our brains are constantly bombarded with sights and sounds, and become over-stimulated. Our senses become overloaded.
With the addition of technology this can lead to a pretty manic existence. Just one daily contact with nature, as simple as tending and watering a plant, can improve our quality of life and peace of mind.
