Unfortunately, a great many of today’s children will grow up without
such fond memories because today’s children spend far less time
outdoors than did previous generations.  According to William
Doherty of the University of Minnesota, over the last twenty years
there has been a 25 percent decline in the time children spend
playing and a 50 percent decline in time spent in unstructured
outdoor activities.

It is unfortunate because when children spend most of their time
indoors, they’ll not just be missing out on memories but also on
everything else the outdoors has to offer them.

To begin with, the outdoors is the best place for young children to
practice and master emerging physical skills and to experience the
pure joy of movement.  It’s also the place where they’re likely to
burn the most calories, which is absolutely necessary in the fight
against obesity. 

Also, the outside light stimulates the pineal gland, which is the
part of the brain that helps regulate the biological clock, is vital
to the immune system, and simply makes us feel happier.  Outside
light triggers the synthesis of vitamin D.  And a number of studies
have demonstrated that it increases academic learning and
productivity!

Young children learn much through their senses, and the outdoors is
a virtual wonderland for the senses.  There are different and
incredible things for the children to see (insects, clouds, and
shadows), to hear (traffic sounds, birdsongs, leaves rustling in the
wind), to smell (flowers and the rain-soaked ground), to touch (a
fuzzy caterpillar or the bark of a tree), and even to taste (newly
fallen snow, a raindrop, or a freshly picked blueberry).  Children
who spend much of their time acquiring experiences through
television, computers, and even books are using only two senses
(hearing and sight), and this can seriously affect their perceptual
abilities.  Additionally, much of this learning, which falls under
the content area of science, can’t be acquired indoors.  Nor can
children who spend most of their time indoors be expected to learn
to care for the environment.

Outside, children are more likely to invent games.  As they do,
they’re able to express themselves and learn about the world in
their own way.  They feel safe and in control, which promotes
autonomy, decision making, and organizational skills.  Inventing
rules for games promotes an understanding of why rules are
necessary.  And although children are just playing to have fun, they
learn:
* communication skills and vocabulary, as they invent, modify, and
enforce rules;
* number relationships, as they keep score and count; and
* social skills, as they learn to play together.

Then, too, there’s the aesthetic value of the outdoors.  Because the
natural world is filled with amazing sights, sounds, and textures,
it’s the perfect resource for the development of aesthetics in young
children.  Since aesthetic awareness means a heightened sensitivity
to the beauty around us, it’s something that can serve children well
at those times when, as adolescents and adults, the world seems less
than beautiful.

Further, Mary Rivkin, author of The Great Outdoors: Restoring
Children’s Right to Play Outside, tells us there is on very basic
reason that children need to experience being outside: humans
evolved in the outdoors.  They thus have a link with nature that
can’t be replaced – in fact, will be atrophied – by technology.  She
asks if, lacking intimate association with nature, we can still be
human!

Children learn their values from the important adults in their
lives.  When they’re not encouraged to go outdoors, they learn
sedentary habits not easily changed and, more unfortunately, that
the outdoor environment is of little significance.