Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/trees-give-children-emotional-support/5027170/
Trees can contribute greatly to healthy child development. In a pioneering study of a rural town in the 1970s, Roger Hart found that children loved to make tree houses and engage in make-believe play under the branches—activities that foster creativity and imagination. Recently (2018, 2021), Carla Gull and her colleagues surveyed parents of children who climb trees. While the parents reported minor injuries, they believed that tree-climbing helped their children develop physical dexterity and personality traits such as independence and self-confidence. Some parents reported that resting in the branches gave children a sense of peace. In a second survey (Gull et al., 2020), early childhood educators sometimes added that trees promote children’s ties to nature.
To get a clearer picture of how trees connect children to nature and provide a sense of peace, it is useful to look at the lives of two highly creative people.
Jane Goodall
Goodall is known for her study of wild chimpanzees in Tanzania. She discovered that chimpanzees are more like humans than scientists had assumed. Chimps can make tools and possess a variety of human traits and emotions. But Goodall’s career had setbacks, and she suffered deeply from a divorce and the death of her second husband. ...