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10th February 2018
10:00am GMT
When my little girl was a toddler, she attended creche in Oslo for about eight months. When she started, we got an e-mail detailing what clothes would be required and what we would need to bring with – to enable her to play outside (all creches at home have outdoor areas that are rather vast, often with different terrain, slopes for sliding down, wooded areas etc.) every day, no matter what.
The best thing, they stated, was if she, at least in winter, came in wearing wool (super-soft, warm and breathable) thermals. This way, when they were headed outside, they could just dress her in another layer on top of that (fleece is warm and super-comfortable for movement and play) before putting on her snowsuit, winter-shoes, hat and mittens. We also got a basket, placed on a shelf above where her jacket hung, to leave at least one change of clothing for her – because outdoor play, of course, will sometimes lead to coming in soaked to the skin – and that way, there was always a spare outfit ready.
I think for the eight months she went to creche in Oslo, my little girl didn't have one day where they didn't play out for most of the day. And guess what? It was her first time attending creche – and we lived through a whole winter without a single sniffle or cold. Go figure.
Here, on the other hand, the outdoor play is somewhat less important, I feel. My 7-year-old will roll her eyes when I ask if they played outside in school and she says they weren't allowed because it was too wet/cold/windy.
The same often goes for creche, where my little boy loves nothing more than garden time and being outside – and yet there too are they far too often (in my Scandinavian opinion) kept inside because the weather isn't sunny, or because most of the kids aren't dressed to play outside for long periods of time.
How is this negative, you say? Why is being outside come hail or shine so important to us Scandinavians? Well, for starters, children today are living far too sedentary lives – often with their eyes glued to a screen. This impacts their health in a shocking way, by the way, and is not doing much to combat the growing childhood obesity crisis we have our on hands.
Being outside is good for children's mental health too
As well as their physical health, being outdoors is all sorts of good for children's (and adults') mental health too. This is something Prince William recently commented on when he last week was on an offical tour of Sweden and Norway with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, who is, of course, currently expecting the couple's third child.
“The Swedish love the outdoors,” Prince William said during a dinner reception in Sweden, Express reports. “The way you embrace your climate and environment and are committed to ensuring future generations can do the same; the fact that you do so when it is so cold is really inspiring.”
After witnessing that all-seasons love for nature first-hand, the father-of-two vowed to apply it to the way he parents Prince George, Princess Charlotte and their sibling on the way.
(William and Kate chatting to a group of creche children in Oslo, Norway alongside the Norwegian Crown Prince and Princess, Haakon and Mette-Marit)
“One lesson that we will take home with us is that children are actively encouraged to spend time outdoors, whatever the weather,” Prince William said. “This is obviously very good for their physical health but, as we learnt this morning at the remarkable Karolinska Institute, it has huge benefits for a child’s mental health as well.”
In contrast, a recent report from the UK’s Office for National Statistics found British children only spend an average of 16 minutes outside each day. And chances are it isn't looking much better here in Ireland either, unfortunately.
Hopefully, Prince William’s proclamation might do something towards reversing that trend—and, in turn, improving the health of children, as multiple studies have linked time outside with lower rates of ADHD, depression and anxiety among kids.Explore more on these topics:
