The Decline of Outdoor Play in Children—and the Rise in Sensory Issues

As we continue to decrease children’s time and space to move and play outdoors, we are seeing a simultaneous rise in the number of children that are presenting with sensory and motor deficits. At the same time, classroom teachers are observing more and more children having trouble with attention, falling out of their seats in school, increased clumsiness, and even aggressiveness with games like tag on the playground.

So, how can we reverse this alarming trend of sensory and motor issues in children? How can we ensure that children are fully engaging their body, mind, and all of their senses?

Using the same philosophy that lies at the heart of her popular TimberNook program—that nature is the ultimate sensory experience, and that psychological and physical health improves for children when they spend time outside on a regular basis—Angela Hanscom offers several strategies to help children thrive in outdoor environments using a therapeutic approach to outdoor play.

Angela Hanscom is a pediatric occupational therapist and the founder of TimberNook, an internationally recognized program in the United States and New Zealand. She is the author of the book, Balanced & Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children by New Harbinger. Angela has been featured on the Children & Nature Network, Huffington Post, MindShift, Babble.com, NPR’s Education blog, the DIY Network, The Jerusalem Post, Times of India, Johnson & Johnson TEDx Talks, and is a frequent contributor to the Washington Post Answer Sheet.