Nature Play

Physical activity and screen time among youth with autism: A longitudinal analysis from 9 to 18 years

To date, studies using cross-sectional methodologies make up a majority of the literature surrounding children with autism spectrum disorders and participation in physical activity and screen time. Longitudinal studies are needed to examine how physical activity and screen time behaviors co-develop for children with and without an autism spectrum disorder.

Physical activity and screen time among youth with autism: A longitudinal analysis from 9 to 18 years Read More »

Psychological impacts of “screen time” and “green time” for children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review

Technological developments in recent decades have increased young people’s engagement with screen-based technologies (screen time), and a reduction in young people’s contact with nature (green time) has been observed concurrently. This combination of high screen time and low green time may affect mental health and well-being.

Psychological impacts of “screen time” and “green time” for children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review Read More »

Why Families Go Outside: An Exploration of Mothers’ and Daughters’ Family-Based Nature Activities

Mothers and daughters find spending time outdoors together strengthens communication and family connectedness Twenty-six mothers and daughters participated in semi-structured interviews focusing on their experiences with family-based nature activities (FBNA), defined as two or more family members engaging in outdoor recreation. The mother and daughter interviews were conducted simultaneously but in separate rooms. This arrangement

Why Families Go Outside: An Exploration of Mothers’ and Daughters’ Family-Based Nature Activities Read More »

Pop-up parks deliver big benefits in small spaces

‘Pop-up parks’ represent one possible means to help meet the demands of urbanites for more opportunities to connect with nature in their neighborhoods, serve important conservation functions by providing small-scale habitat refuges for a wide variety of threatened plants and animals in urban environments, and deliver a suite of ecosystem services to urban residents and wildlife alike.

Pop-up parks deliver big benefits in small spaces Read More »

Residential green space in childhood is associated with lower risk of psychiatric disorders from adolescence into adulthood

Urban residence is associated with a higher risk of some psychiatric disorders, but the underlying drivers remain unknown. Here, we investigate the prospective association between green space and mental health in the Danish population.

Residential green space in childhood is associated with lower risk of psychiatric disorders from adolescence into adulthood Read More »

Measuring connectedness to nature in preschool children in an urban setting and its relation to psychological functioning

The urban environment has been criticized for promoting ‘nature-deficit’ and ‘child-nature disconnectedness’. Keeping in mind the importance of nature exposure and its extensive health benefits, many environmental programs around the world hope to (re)connect children with nature. To evaluate the effectiveness of such efforts, valid tools to measure Connectedness to Nature (CN) are needed but do not exist today, especially for use with pre-schoolers.

Measuring connectedness to nature in preschool children in an urban setting and its relation to psychological functioning Read More »

Embracing complexity: Rethinking the relation between play and learning: Comment on Lillard et al. (2013).

Lillard et al. (2013) concluded that pretend play is not causally related to child outcomes and charged that the field is subject to a play ethos, whereby research is tainted by a bias to find positive effects of play on child development. In this commentary, we embrace their call for a more solidly scientific approach to questions in this important area of study while offering 2 critiques of their analysis.

Embracing complexity: Rethinking the relation between play and learning: Comment on Lillard et al. (2013). Read More »

Landscapes for play: Effects of an intervention to promote nature-based risky play in early childhood centres

The outdoor space at childcare centres can be many preschoolers’ primary experience of outdoor play. Trends prioritizing risk reduction have diminished access to nature and risky play. We examined the effects of an intervention to increase opportunities for nature and risky play in the outdoor play environments of two childcare centres using a repeated measures mixed methods design.

Landscapes for play: Effects of an intervention to promote nature-based risky play in early childhood centres Read More »

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