You may have noticed that today we are talking a lot about trees, and it is the # WorldTreeDay ... In this post I am not going to talk about plant trees, nor about related activities to do with children, because my classmates have already taken care of that. I'm going to talk of the wisdom that trees give us, of freedom and of decisions that if not made during childhood, will hardly be assumed later.
Not all families live near a forest, not all children live in small towns where Nature is next to home ... However, all mothers and fathers they can make efforts to make trees part of the lives of childrens. From joining collective plantations, to substituting consumer leisure for weekend stays in the rural world, and much more.
At present, activities programmed for children or families are very frequent, such as adventure parks in Nature, guided visits, hiking, ... And in truth it all adds up, but let's not forget that during childhood (especially from the age of seven years) It is very important that they have freedom, and that we allow them little adventures in the company of their friends, and without adults. Obviously they are not the same 13 years as 8, nor the skills or reaction capacity; But when they can organize spontaneously, there are usually older children who can take care of the little ones.
Discover Nature and trees, from wisdom
Looking back at the childhood of my children (and they are not of legal age, but the first-born only has three years left), I realize that sometimes I have wanted to be overprotective. And this concept the one with overprotection, It can be applied very well when we find little ones that are no longer babies, nor do they need constant supervision, and yet they have the adults practically on top. Well, more or less successfully, on most occasions I managed to "get out of the trap", so Today there are two teenagers who have climbed trees, made cabins on trees, have walked along paths between trees ... and they have not needed more than one another.
Because trees are important to the lives of our daughters and sons, and to ours, and you only need to do a little search on the internet to verify it: they fight climate change, provide food, mark the seasons of the year, and much more. more. But having to resort exclusively to written knowledge to discover all this is very sad. Sad because contact with the natural environment is very beneficial for children, there has been talk for a few years about Nature Deficit Disorder (among other things), and it is something that we cannot ignore.
Balance in the age of technology
We cannot ignore the benefits of contact with Nature, unless it is completely impossible for us to provide our children with this contact; but even so, surely those 'small natures' of the big cities (wooded parks and others) provide part of the advantages, with the exception of freedom (because the space is smaller).
Giving up and stopping looking for balance in the middle of the technology era is a mistake, because an indiscriminate use of electronic devices causes a sedentary lifestyle (and consequently overweight), de-virtualization of relationships, etc. I am not saying that we have to ban the tablet or the console, I am saying that our children also have to know the offline world, and have more 'real' life experiences, so to speak. Thus they will become strong, grow healthy, and enhance social skills such as negotiation, dialogue, decision-making, etc..
What's so great about tree cabins?
Although climbing a tree may seem like a risky action, as a fall from several meters can have a fatal consequence, a 10-year-old may have developed enough skills to do it safely, and later you will be able to transmit your wisdom to the little ones.
And as for the cabins ... what girl does not dream of isolating herself from the adult world with her friends? On top of the trees or not, it is very stimulating that they are part of the children's world because when building them they must start up ingenuity, different strategies for placing materials, they must discuss and choose the best option, etc ...
And now yes: it is your decision: Do you put a tree or many in the life of your children?Or rather, do you give them freedom to relate to Nature?