Let’s teach children how to run wild, says Springwatch Michaela
THERE was a time when children would play outside all day in the summer, returning home hungry, thirsty and in need of a good bath.
But today’s youngsters ‘don’t know what they’re supposed to do’ when left to their own devices outdoors, Springwatch presenter Michaela Strachan has said.
The 49-year- old has called for the ‘re-wilding’ of children who spend too much time playing with gadgets.
She said that children have not learnt how to entertain themselves outside, instead spending their time glued to iPads.
The mother- of- one said: ‘ Rewilding kids is something I think is really important.
‘We live in a very technical, digital world and a lot of people are only experiencing the outdoors through their screen – which is really sad. Before we had all this technology children would just be l eft outside to play and entertain themselves with their own imagination – they knew what to do.
‘I think now an awful lot of children when they’re told to go outside go, “Okay, now what do I do?” They don’t actually know what do to when they are out there. That’s not their fault. It’s because they live their lives behind a screen all day.’
Miss Strachan lives in South Africa with her ten-year-old son Ollie, partner Nick Chevallier and his three grown-up children.
She said that parents have a vital role in teaching children how to have fun in the garden or at the park.
The BBC wildlife presenter, who had a double mastectomy last year after being diagnosed with breast cancer, also spoke of the ‘constant battle’ she has as a parent, balancing her son’s time spent in front of a screen with time outside.
She said: ‘I’ve got a very sporty ten-year- old but he loves the iPad. It’s up to me to say, “Right, let’s get off the iPad and go play in the garden. I’ll chuck a ball for you”. Parents have an even big- ger role to play these days. It’s about finding that balance. Part of me would love to ban [the iPad] but I realise that we live in a technical age and you don’t want your child to get behind.
‘There’s peer pressure, too. It was like when all the kids were yo-yoing.
‘Now they are all playing [online game] Minecraft and talking to each other through that.
‘I certainly wouldn’t ban [the iPad] but like for most parents it is a constant battle and something that you constantly debate in your head – what’s right and what’s wrong?’
She added: ‘I think it is incredibly important that we keep people – especially children – connected to wildlife.
‘I think that doesn’t necessarily mean they have to take a pair of binoculars and go bird watching – it could mean playing football in the park or climbing a tree, going on a swing.’
Miss Strachan is judging an amateur nature film-making competition for natural history channel Eden. Entries are now open at eden.uktv.co.uk/eden-shorts.
‘Play football or climb a tree’