Connecting Kids to Nature in the Digital Age

Connecting Kids to Nature in the Digital Age

NWF Report: Friending Fresh Air

So how do parents balance the role of technology in their kids’ lives with the simple pleasures and lasting benefits of outdoor play? Better yet, how do they use technology to get kids moving, exploring and interacting with the outdoor world around them?

            Be Out There takes an in-depth look at how to balance screen time with green time in the report, Friending Fresh Air: Connecting Kids to Nature in the Digital Age. Here, we offer insight on how to use technology you already love and still connect your kids to nature.

            Bridge the Indoor/Outdoor Gap with Tech

1. Use technology to help plan outdoor time or inspire your next outdoor adventure.

2. If they love it, embrace it, and take it outside!

3. Keep a record of your experiences with the help of electronics to take photos, make videos or keep an electronic journal of adventures and discoveries

"Everything in moderation" is a wise old saying that applies to many aspects of our lives. As much as we love chocolate, a diet of cookies and candy bars just doesn't cut it in the nutrition department. Likewise, technology can be a wonderful tool for learning and playing, but kids require a balance of screen and green experiences to grow up happy and healthy. Kids, and even parents, need time to recharge their own batteries, so don’t forget the importance of unplugging completely and enjoying some disconnected connection with nature, too.

Smartphone or not, it’s good for kids to Be Out There!

To download the entire report, go to:http://www.nwf.org/~/media/PDFs/Be%20Out%20There/BOTTechReport85x11FINAL.ashx