Every week, I see different research articles highlighting the benefits of nature and unstructured play for children.
At times I wonder if there is indeed a growing understanding in our community, or if the algorithms are messing with my perception. In reality (the offline world), there is a huge gap between what the research tells us about child development and well-being and what we are doing as a society.
I recently read an article in the Journal of Pediatrics that outlined the causal relationship between a lack of independent play and declining mental health in children and youth. There isn’t a much more esteemed academic publication for children’s health than the Journal of Pediatrics and it wasn’t a suggested link or observed correlation, it was an identified cause.
Read Kelsie’s full opinion piece in The West Australian.