Forget all those glitzy, high-tech toys. The hottest new trend in the world of play involves getting back to nature with your kid.
And playing in natural spaces isn't just fun and games. It's also good for the planet. Environmental psychologist Nancy Wells of the College of Human Ecology at New York's Cornell University put nature play under the microscope and discovered that free play activities such camping, hiking, or playing in the woods can lead to a life-long love of nature and a heightened awareness of environmental issues.
Being exposed to nature has also been demonstrated to offer other unexpected benefits to kids. It can help to relieve stress, to boost attention span, and to provide greater opportunities for making friends. (One study showed that children who have suitable places to play outdoors have twice as many friends as those who don't.)
The challenge, of course, is finding a way to balance your own fears of the unknown against the benefits to your child of allowing him to enjoy a taste of that childhood wanderlust you took for granted during your own growing up years.
