Raising the next generation
Annabel Anderson shares with us what it takes to raise free-range kids
Back in the day kiwi kids grew up with all the things we like to think of as being integral to a free-range childhood. Sleeping in tents all summer long, foraging for puha sticks to chase down streams, baiting bread on hooks to sit out in the dark in the hope of hooking an eel, assessing the beauty of a tree for its structure to make a hut, only coming home when it daylight had disappeared and hunger had set in, spending a solid portion of time barefoot….and most importantly without a care in the world other than to wake up and do it all over again the next day. Somewhere between the 80s and the iPhone things have become a little distorted as to what growing up in the land of milk and honey actually looks like. Parents working longer and longer hours, the quarter acre dream becoming an apartment in the city and technology becoming the babysitter that Mother Nature once was. Yes, New Zealand you’ve changed and possibly not for the betterment of encouraging our next generation to embrace the beauty that lies on our doorsteps that the rest of the world so desperately wants to come and explore.
When people ask what made me successful in sport a very clear answer resonates, it’s all boils down to how I grew up. For the most part, the first five years of my life I was left to my own devices tagging along with mum and dad on a very isolated farm on the east coast of the Wairarapa. The closest neighbours were forty minutes away on a gravel road, kindergarten was via correspondence and my saint of a welsh mountain pony was my best mate who I would torment with hours of ‘round and round the pen’. My doll count peaked at two; lego, a sandpit, pet lambs, goats and calves seemed far more interactive, responsive and entertaining. I was a free-range kid, I knew how to make my own fun and entertain myself with what I found around me. Family life revolved around farm life and the odd family holiday embracing the kiwi goodness of camping, bachs, huts and running around until we ran out of steam. It wouldn’t be until my 30s and being asked with relative frequency as to what contributed to my sporting achievement that it made me start to realise that how I grew up was integral to coping with life on the road, isolation from friends and family and coping with the boredom of hours of monotonous training. It made me realise that as an adult, I had held onto that ability to embrace my inner ‘free-range’ kid no matter where in the world I found myself. Plonk me in the concrete jungle of London and I intuitively knew to seek out the serenity of walking and running beside the river and taking short cuts through wooded commons to get from point A to B, set me down in Los Angeles and I knew to migrate to the white sands of the South Bay and not venture east of Pacific Coast Highway unless absolutely necessary. What I realised is that what attributed to a large portion of my success in the eyes of others was my ability to rely on myself and make the most of whatever I found on my doorstep no matter where in the world I was. I was a product of the environment that I grew up in and that environment is otherwise known as the Great Outdoors. Sport was my way of coping with days spent in classrooms and if it wasn’t school or sport, I was conjuring up some way of recreating and playing to fill in the gaps. The love of doing outweighed all else and my eyes lit up at the suggestion of fun, games and a possible adventure. Unfortunately, while it still exists this way of growing up in New Zealand is now the exception not the norm and if you’re a girl growing up in the current era it can be a very different story. When once upon a time we drew inspiration from sporting icons such as Annelise Coberger, Julie Seymore, Anna Simic, Yvette Williams and co, now the women of our future are bombarded with the subconscious subjection to the behaviours of the Kardashians, The Bachelor, Love Island, beauty bloggers and social media stars. Augmented breasts, fish pout lips, bubble butts, waist trainers and plenty of exposed butt cheek captured by the ever-present camera that is always lurking to capture the perfect shot in the hot pursuit of likes, gratification of others and potential fame.
"Augmented breasts, fish pout lips, bubble butts, waist trainers and plenty of exposed butt cheek captured by the ever-present camera that is always lurking to capture the perfect shot in the hot pursuit of likes, gratification of others and potential fame."
Why? Frequency of exposure and visibility due to the rise and rise that technology and new media play in our day to day lives, not to mention the ability to hide behind a screen to communicate rather than hold a conversation face to face. Yes, in the current age of distraction, devices which have the same addictive properties as heroin and the rewards that comes with ‘making it’ as a social media star it’s no wonder that our future generation of females are tuning in to these figure heads and finding less and less reason to switch off, get outside or commit to the years of toil involved in becoming some (or all) of their athletic and physical potential. Quite simply, when we are exposed to a stimulus with repetition, we start to mirror that behaviour and it provides an all important source of inspiration and aspiration in how we want to live our lives and what we aspire to be when we grow up. So how do we change this? We need to get better at telling the stories of our female heroes of the outdoors, sport and recreation. The mountain guides, the DOC rangers, the raft guides, surf instructors and female athletes of all ages. We need to amplify the stories and give compelling reason for media to showcase the importance of raising the profile of these women if we want our next generation to have the ‘kiwi’ qualities we so proudly trumpet to the rest of the world. We need to do a better job of providing the opportunity for our women of the future to partake and be exposed to outdoor experiences in their formative years so they create life long memories they want to continue to have for the rest of their lives due to the changes to how the kiwi family unit has to operate to simply survive. When we tell stories of incredible girls and women already “doing the doing” with increased visibility via media channels and platforms that resonate with the girls of our future we encourage them to "opt outside", to "switch on” to the great outdoors, to seek inspiration from females of solid character and values and we set the tone for life beyond the filter and the highlights reel. It’s a simple reality that when we change the look and feel of media, we change perception over time, we change media and we open opportunities that previously did not exist. If there has been one teacher that has served me my greatest lessons from which has come infinite learnings, it’s Mother Nature and the Great Outdoors. Let’s take the opportunity to ensure that our girls of the future become all that they have the potential to be and embrace the landscapes and outstanding natural beauty that lies on our doorstep. If the rest of the world are lining up to come here, it would be criminal not to embrace our finest national resources to help shape and mould our greatest national asset - our men and women of the future.
"I was a free-range kid, I knew how to make my own fun and entertain myself with what I found around me. Family life revolved around farm life and the odd family holiday embracing the kiwi goodness of camping, bachs, huts and running around until we ran out of steam."