Why nature matters for babies and young children

As a clinical psychologist, I’ve spent much of my career thinking about what helps babies and young children develop the social and emotional skills they need for life. How do they learn to understand their feelings, get along with other people and feel confident enough to explore the world around them?

Increasingly, I find myself thinking about something very simple: nature.

New research commissioned by The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood suggests parents are thinking about it too. In a survey of more than 1,000 UK parents of babies and young children aged five and under, 84% agreed that spending time in nature helps their baby's or child's wellbeing and development. And nearly two-thirds, 62%, said they would like their child to spend more time in nature. What interests me is not simply how much time children spend outside, but what can happen while they're there.

Nature can be a place for connection

During the first five years of life, babies and young children are developing at extraordinary speed. At the heart of that development are their relationships and everyday interactions with the people around them. This development can happen anywhere, but nature can provide a particularly rich setting for those interactions.

Think of a baby watching the leaves moving above their pram while you notice them together. A toddler crouching down to investigate a snail and pulling you over to see it too. Or a four-year-old turning sticks, stones and leaves into the ingredients for an imaginary dinner.

These aren't necessarily spectacular experiences. And we certainly don’t need to notice every leaf that passes. But these experiences can create opportunities for something important: sharing attention, following a child's curiosity, talking, playing and discovering things together. These are all small ways of helping children develop the social and emotional skills they will draw on as they grow.

Life can get in the way, but we don’t have to be perfect parents

Of course, wanting children to spend time outside and being able to make it happen are two different things.

While 40% of parents think babies and young children should spend time in nature every day, only 26% say they currently spend time together with their child in nature every day.

The reasons will probably sound familiar. Nearly a third of parents, 32%, said the weather can make getting into nature difficult. Others pointed to busy family routines, worries about children getting hurt and simply getting to suitable spaces. When parents were asked in their own words what would help, they talked about work, time, transport, toilets, baby-changing facilities and having safe, child-friendly places nearby.

As a parent, I think that reality matters. The message shouldn't be that there's another thing mums and dads need to squeeze into already busy days, or another standard against which to judge ourselves. Nature doesn't have to mean driving to a national park, planning a family hike or spending hours outside.

It might be five minutes stopping to look at a worm on the way to nursery. Splashing in a puddle. Sitting underneath a tree. Collecting leaves on the walk home. Or simply letting your baby reach out and touch the grass in the garden.

What matters isn't creating the perfect outdoor experience. After all, nature isn’t perfect and we don’t have to be perfect parents either. Sometimes it's simply giving young children – and even very young babies – the time and freedom to notice what's already around them, and noticing it with them is enough. 

Dr Matt Price is a Clinical Psychologist and Strategic Early Years Lead at The Royal Foundation