“Let nature be your teacher” — William Wordsworth

In his book The Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv coined the phrase ‘nature-deficit disorder’ to refer to the increasing lack of time we (and especially our children) are spending outside. If you’re worried that your child is favouring ‘screen time’ over outdoor play, there are plenty of ways to inspire them to put down their tablets, pull on their wellies and get good and grubby in the great outdoors!

As the Child Mind Institute attests, encouraging your little one to embrace their ‘greener’ side has a multitude of benefits for their rapidly developing minds and bodies. A love of nature promotes creativity, stimulates their imagination and teaches responsibility, whilst it can also aid their cognitive development and reduce anxiety and fatigue. So with a connection to nature more important than ever for your child’s growth, here are some tried-and-tested ideas to inspire their passion for all things wild and wonderful.

Embrace the outdoors

Whether you live in the middle of a bustling city or out in the countryside, there’s nature to be discovered everywhere. You just need to know where to look! Why not swap an afternoon in front of the TV for a family hike? Along the way, encourage your little one to tune in to the sounds they hear and the things they see, from the choruses of birdsong to the tall trees overhead.

If you want to get really adventurous, a family camping trip might be just the thing to foster a love of the outdoors in your child. And for some more dramatic (and slightly pricier) wildlife encounters, find your nearest zoo, farm or aquarium for a day of wild fun with a little education thrown in too!

Go Wildlife spotting

If you live close enough to a park, a lake or a wood, there’s no limit to the amount of wildlife you can discover, from creepy crawlies to crafty squirrels. Get your child to keep a tally of everything they spot, and ask them to recall their wild discoveries at the end of their trek! If you’re lucky enough to live near the sea, explore the rock pools and encourage them to collect their favourite shells and stones.

If you have a garden (or even if you don’t) birdwatching is a great way for your little one to engage with nature without venturing far (you can encourage ornithological visitors using feeders, birdbaths and bird tables). A handy pair of binoculars from the RSPB will help them spot and identify their favourite feathered friends, whilst your purchase will help the RSPB (the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) continue their important conservation work.

Plant the seed(s)

When it comes to turning your child into a nature lover, flora is just as important as fauna! Encourage your green-fingered little one to choose some seeds (sunflowers, sweet peas and marigolds are perfect for tiny gardeners), help them to plant them in their own special spot (a windowsill is fine if you don’t have a garden) and then watch them grow! As they tend to their patch and keep a close eye on its progress, they’ll learn a sense of responsibility and the virtue of patience.

And whilst fruit and vegetables may be the natural enemy of most under 10s, why not encourage them to try their hand at growing their own? The novelty of eating a carrot, a tomato or a cucumber they’ve grown themselves could help to alleviate their aversion to veggies and help them develop a healthier diet.

Get creative

If you want the natural world to make a lasting impression on your little one, you have to make it fun! You could turn a walk in the woods into a game. For example:

• The alphabet game: can you think of an animal beginning with each letter from A to Z?
• A scavenger hunt: be the first to find a pine cone, a spider web or a set of animal tracks
• A nature-themed game of I Spy: what natural spectacles can you spot?

Why not get a little arty, too. Find a quiet spot outdoors and get them to sketch (or paint) what they see, or get them to draw the bugs, the birds and the other creatures they’ve spotted that day. It’s a great way of stimulating their creativity whilst developing their memory and their knowledge of all things wild!

Read, watch and learn

The last thing you want is for your child to be glued to a screen 24/7, but you don’t have to venture outside to keep them connected with nature. On those gloomier days, don’t forget that TV shows, films and books can be invaluable resources when it comes to educating and inspiring your offspring to love their environment.

It’s never too early to introduce them to Sir David Attenborough, but for younger naturalists, there’s plenty to explore on the BBC’s Earth Kids YouTube channel, including Wild Bites and the nail-biting Deadly 60. For little movie lovers, Pixar’s Finding Nemo will introduce them to an array of aquatic wildlife, whilst Dreamworks’ Madagascar features a multitude of exotic critters. And to feed their little imaginations even further, check out Penguin’s best nature books for kids for some inspiring bedtime reading.

Whether your child is a toddler taking their first tentative steps into the great outdoors, or a pre-teen who needs a bit of encouragement when it comes to embracing nature, we’re sure these fun ideas will help to cultivate an everlasting affinity to the natural world in your precious little one.