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Nature nurtures: Practitioner guide

Emerging Minds and Parenting Research Centre

Related to Child mental health

Resource Summary

This guide aims to support practitioners to consider time spent in nature when working with children, parents and families.

The guide is based on Nature nurtures: Greenspace supports positive child mental health and wellbeing, a paper led by the Parenting Research Centre and Emerging Minds. A short summary of the paper is also available.

Time in nature supports children’s mental and physical health – and yet, most children in Australia aren’t playing outside on most days (The Royal Children’s Hospital National Child Health Poll, 2022).

The evidence

 

A substantial body of evidence shows that greenspace promotes play, connection, and relaxation, and makes our neighbourhoods healthier places to live (e.g. Christian et al., 2015; Markevych et al., 2017; Putra et al., 2020; World Health Organization [WHO], 2016). It makes sense, then, that greenspace supports positive mental and physical health for children and adults (e.g. Bratman et al., 2019; Caryl et al., 2024; Feng & Astell-Burt, 2017; Fyfe-Johnson et al., 2021; Gianfredi et al., 2021; WHO, 2016; Yang et al., 2021; Zare Sakhdivi et al., 2023).

 

The link between greenspace and positive child mental health matters. Positive mental health and wellbeing helps children build relationships, explore the world around them, meet life’s challenges, engage in learning experiences, and regulate emotions. It’s key to healthy development, which lays the foundation for good mental and physical wellbeing across a person’s lifespan (WHO, 2016).

 

Ensuring children can spend time in greenspace is therefore an important part of supporting healthy development. 

Your conversations with parents and children can encourage families to spend time in nature.

In your work with children, parents or families, you can talk about:

  • the benefits of spending time in nature
  • parents’ worries or questions
  • different ways children and parents can spend time in nature.

How does time in nature support children’s health?

Time in nature helps children grow up healthy and well. This is because nature promotes play, physical activity, social connection, and relaxation. It can also reduce air pollution, noise, and heat. This all adds up to support healthy social, emotional, and physical development.

And it’s not just children who benefit – time in nature supports parents’ mental and physical health too.

What gets in the way?

The amount of time children and families spend in nature is shaped by their neighbourhoods and local natural spaces – and by their values, beliefs, and concerns.

It’s often more difficult for children and families living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods to spend time in nature. Their neighbourhoods tend to have fewer natural spaces and those that are available tend to be of worse quality.

The rise in the cost of living and parents’ working hours can also mean families have less time to spend in nature.

On top of this, parks, playgrounds, and natural spaces are often not designed with children or families with disabilities in mind.

Other barriers include:

  • parents’ concerns about safety (e.g. stranger danger, animals, weather, or road safety)
  • screen time – engaging with digital technology can mean less time for children to spend in nature
  • a decline in children walking or cycling to places in their neighbourhood without an adult.

Digital technology as a stepping stone to nature

 

Digital microscopes, cameras, apps that identify different species (e.g. plants, fungi, animals, birds or insects), online maps, or apps that catalogue local greenspaces can all encourage children and families to spend time in nature.

 

You might ask parents and children: Is there something in nature you want to know more about? What tools could help you learn about that?

 

You could suggest things like:

Have conversations with families about time in nature

There are lots of opportunities to weave conversations about nature into your sessions with families. You might incorporate questions about time outside when you’re:

  • getting to know a family
  • doing a health check
  • talking about a behavioural or developmental concern
  • talking about positive mental health and wellbeing
  • making a plan to support a child’s wellbeing
  • checking in on a parent’s wellbeing.

Alongside sharing the benefits of time in nature, you might ask questions that explore:

  • the amount of time children and/or parents are spending in nature
  • any barriers or concerns
  • what children and/or parents like to do in nature.

We’ve included some examples of how you might talk with families about how they spend time in nature.

1. Talk about the benefits of time in nature

You might bring up the benefits of nature generally, or in response to a specific concern or area of development.

Example situation What you might say
You’re seeing Ash and her daughter Lila for a general health check. You might say something like: ‘Time in nature helps children grow up healthy and well. It helps them move, play, relax, connect with others, and have fun. As part of our session today, I’d like to spend a few minutes learning more about how you spend time outside together.’
Tim brings up Arlo’s behaviour after school. He says Arlo is struggling with the transition to home and that everything seems to upset him – from what game to play with his brother to what their after-school snack is. Alongside your usual response, you might say something like: ‘I’m also thinking about how time in nature can support children’s behaviour. It can give children the chance to relax and unwind. I’m wondering what a typical day looks like for Arlo. How much time do you think he’s spending outside?’
Hanan is worried about Mohammed’s development – she’s noticed that other children his age are walking and climbing more. She wants to know what she can do to support him. Alongside your usual response, you might say something like: ‘Giving Mohammed lots of opportunities to explore and use his body in different ways can support healthy development. Spending time in nature is a great way to do this – there is so much to explore together! How do you feel about taking Mohammed to the foreshore or a park?’

2. Ask about routines, worries, and activities

The following questions can help start a conversation with families about ways they are engaging with nature.

Asking about the amount of time children and parents are spending in nature Asking about barriers or concerns Asking about what children and parents like to do in nature
I’m wondering what your days together look like. How often do you and Pippa spend time in nature together? How do you feel about spending time in nature with Dana? What kinds of things do you do outside together as a family?
How often does Ahmed play outside? What do you think is getting in the way of spending time in nature together? What are Min’s favourite things to do outside in nature?
Talk me through a typical morning, afternoon or weekend in your family. What worries you about Noah riding to school? Where do you like to spend time in nature?

Where possible, follow up with practical problem-solving or goal setting. For example:

  • What’s one small thing you can change this week?
  • What’s one way you’re going to spend time outside together this week?

We all have a role to play in helping make time in nature a part of everyday life for every child.

Spend a few moments reflecting on how you can weave conversations about time in nature into your practice.

You might ask yourself:

  • Do I know where parks, playgrounds, bushland or foreshores are in this area? Can I share family-friendly locations with parents?
  • Could my service be delivered outside (e.g. ‘walk and talk’ counselling, allied health sessions at the park)?
  • Could I ‘prescribe’ time in nature to the children and families I work with?
  • Do I ask about time in nature when I’m getting to know a child or family? If not, how could I start doing this?
  • Do I know where to point families if they need ideas about what to do outside?

  • Bratman, G. N., Anderson, C. B., Berman, M. G., Cochran, B., de Vries, S., Flanders, J., Folke, C., Frumkin, H., Gross, J. J., Hartig, T., Kahn, P. H., Jr., Kuo, M., Lawler, J. J., Levin, P. S., Lindahl, T., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., Mitchell, R., Ouyang, Z., Roe, J., … & Daily, G. C. (2019). Nature and mental health: An ecosystem service perspective. Science Advances, 5(7), eaax0903. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax0903.

     

    Caryl, F., McGrorie, P., Olsen, J., & Mitchell, R. (2024). Use of natural environments is associated with reduced inequalities in child mental wellbeing: A cross-sectional analysis using global positioning system (GPS) data. Environment International, 109, 1–9. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108847.

     

    Christian, H., Zubrick, S., Foster, S., Giles-Corti, B., Bull, F., Wood, L., Knuiman, M., Brinkman, S., Houghton, S., & Boruff, B. (2015). The influence of the neighbourhood physical environment on early childhood health and development: A review and call for research. Health & Place, 33, 25–36. DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2015.01.005.

     

    Feng, X., & Astell-Burt, T. (2017). Residential green space quantity and quality and child well-being: A longitudinal study. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 53(5), 616–624. DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2017.06.035.

     

    Fyfe-Johnson, A., Hazlehurst, M., Perrins, S., Bratman, G., Thomas,R., Garrett, K., Hafferty, K., Cullaz., Marcuse, E., & Tandon, P. (2021). Nature and children’s health: A systematic review. Pediatrics, 148(4), e2020049155. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2020-049155.

     

    Gianfredi, V., Buffoli, M., Rebecchi, A., Croci, R., Oradini-Alacreu, A., Stirparo, G., Marino, A., Odone, A., Capolongo, S., & Signorelli, C. (2021). Association between urban greenspace and health: A systematic review of literature. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(10), 5137. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18105137.

     

    Markevych, I., Schoierer, J., Hartig, T., Chudnovsky, A., Hystad, P., Dzhambov, A. M., de Vries, S., Triguero-Mas, M., Brauer, M., Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J., Lupp, G., Richardson, E. A., Astell-Burt, T., Dimitrova, D., Feng, X., Sadeh, M., Standl, M., Heinrich, J., & Fuertes, E. (2017). Exploring pathways linking greenspace to health: Theoretical and methodological guidance. Environmental Research, 158, 301–317. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2017.06.028.

     

    Putra, I. G. N. E., Astell-Burt, T., Cliff, D. P., Vella, S. A., John, E. E., & Feng, X. (2020). The relationship between greenspace and prosocial behaviour among children and adolescents: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 11(859). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00859.

     

    The Royal Children’s Hospital National Child Health Poll. (2022). Australian families: How we play (Poll no. 28). The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne.

     

    World Health Organization. (2016). Urban green spaces and health: A review of the evidence. World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe.

     

    Yang, B. Y., Zhao, T., Hu, L. X., Browning, M. H. E. M., Heinrich, J., Dharmage, S. C., Jalaludin, B., Knibbs, L. D., Liu, X. X., Luo, Y. N., James, P., Li, S., Huang, W. Z., Chen, G., Zeng, X. W., Hu, L. W., Yang, Y., & Dong, G. H. (2021). Greenspace and human health: An umbrella review. The Innovation, 2(3), 100164. DOI: 10.1016/j.xinn.2021.100164.

     

    Zare Sakhvidi, M. J., Mehrparvar, A. H., Zare Sakhvidi, F., & Dadvand, P. (2023). Greenspace and health, wellbeing, physical activity, and development in children and adolescents: An overview of the systematic reviews. Current Opinion in Environmental Science and Health, 32, 100445. DOI: 10.1016/j.coesh.2023.100445.

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