Embrace the joy of nature play: 26 October to 1 November

Council Play Advocate Melinda Butt is raising awareness about the growing concern over children’s access to outdoor play. In recent years, there’s been an overemphasis on safety and risk-aversion, leading to a decline in the kind of free, adventurous play that previous generations enjoyed.

“We currently have the most sedentary generation of youth that we’ve ever had,” says Ms. Butt. “This is starting to have flow-on effects, not just in young people’s physical abilities, but also in areas like communication, resilience, mental wellbeing and problem-solving.”

Ms. Butt advocates for getting kids out into nature, where they can engage in exciting and physically challenging activities like climbing, jumping, balancing and rough-and-tumble play.

While playgrounds are fantastic for supporting physical and social skills, they are limited when it comes to fostering cognitive and emotional development. There’s immense value in playing in natural environments like the beach and the bush.

“No one plays the same way,” she emphasises. “Some kids like to play with others, some enjoy playing alone, some love high-energy activities, while others prefer quieter play.”

Play is a crucial part of how we learn as humans. In many cultures, especially indigenous ones, children learned all the skills they’d need for adulthood through play. It is fundamental to our growth.

Ms. Butt also highlights the importance of play for adults. “Our culture has become so busy and task-oriented that play has been pushed to the back and undervalued. The increase of spending time on devices has intensified this trend.”

If you know of an area that could be developed into a nature-play environment, consider building huts, climbing trees or creating spaces that encourage natural play.

Planting more trees, adding pieces of driftwood, and even a tree stump or two can become fantastic play elements.