A little breathing space

There has been much talk of children returning to school and how that might look in the months to come. Parents and guardians may be coping well with the routine of home schooling while others are struggling. Much of the pressure – even before Covid-19- is based around the curriculum and how a child conforms. This can mean we sometimes miss simple clues to the child’s own struggles, be that mental health, ability to adapt to change or the loss of resilience. What we think is bad behaviour could be acting out because of fear, pressure, hurt or change.

Sounds depressing, but it doesn’t have to be— lockdown presents an opportunity to stop and reassess. Is it vital that your child is sticking rigidly to a routine of schooling that they and you might not understand? Is it essential that you stress yourself out feeling that you cannot cope? In both cases absolutely not!

I am seeing amazing things while on my evening walk. Families running up and down hills to find different flowers, kids asking questions like ‘why are the colour and size of leaves at the bottom of trees are different to the ones higher up?’. More importantly these children are laughing, enjoying being with their family, getting exercise, being curious, using their imagination, connecting with their inner self, and with nature. They are becoming resilient.

The outdoors is the best place for kids to assess self-risk management, they do it without thinking and in the longer term it becomes muscle memory. It is one of the many things about this pandemic that give me hope. Hope that things will not go back to normal – because normal was broken, that old normal is how we are in this situation now. But, instead go forward to a better normal, one where we have a greater connection with nature and this planet.

If you are looking for fun activities linked to nature that you can do on your own or with family to start you off on this journey, head to our activities page.