Parenting: How much time should children spend outside?
"1000 Hours Outside" is the blog by Ginny and Josh of Michigan that they plead, children, should spend four to six hours a day outdoors. What at first sounded like an absurd number to the two, proved to be the right thing for the parents of five children.
Theory from the 20th century
Ginny first read about a 20th-century English teacher named Charlotte Mason, who asked children to spend four to six hours in nature. However, when the mother went through her head, according to her blog article, she noticed that children might spend more than an hour a day out there. At the invitation of her friends, she also went to the door with the children more frequently and from then on set herself the goal of fulfilling this number of hours.
Fast development of children
She realized that the more time she spent with her children in nature, the more she could see in their development. "Children who are allowed to live such a freedom lose themselves in nature, they lose themselves in their imagination, they lose their amazement, and then suddenly they develop very quickly." training for sensory skills, "writes Ginny in her blog.
Supported by science
Today, 100 years after Charlotte Mason made this demand, the thesis is supported by science. Child therapist Angela J. Hanscom writes in her book "BAlanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children"Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Playing in the Outdoors Cares for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children"): "Children of all ages should spend at least three hours outdoors."
Not always feasible
Ginny admits that everyday life does not always allow her to be in nature with her children. But statistics say US children are no more than four to seven minutes in the open air. That's only 30 minutes a week. Friends of her managed at least three hours a week. But that's something.
The mother has a clear opinion: "When children spend an average of 1,200 hours a year watching the screen, there is clearly time and it should perhaps be made more productive and healthy."
Video tip: boy or girl? The mother lets her child decide for herself
