Playing in the dirt

Parents, does picturing your children covered in mud make you shudder? In this article, we explore why parents struggle with outdoor playtime despite the persistent expert advice telling them to get their kids outside more.

- KATE GILGAN

“Mummy. Henry and I like playing in the dirt.” “Yes, sweetheart. I know.” Sigh. We’ve all heard the message from experts: our children do not get enough outside playtime. We knowingly nod our heads in agreement. But then what?

The recent Pokémon GO phenomenon is touted for getting screen-addicted kids outside. Youth participation in organized sport sits at between 60 and 70 per cent in Canada, the US, and Australia alike. And still those persistent experts tell us we are not doing enough to get our children active and outside.

Kids have a bizarre fascination with dirt. Set them on a patch of manicured lawn and their childhood fantasy play will not manifest in nearly the same ways as when they are set free on a pile of sand or, worse yet, in a mud puddle.

When presented with access to dirt, mud or sand, children will play in it. We parents, meanwhile, stand aside, biting our fingernails in angst as we unwittingly espouse that most powerful parental message: “Have fun. But don’t get dirty.”

Why can’t our children have fun and get dirty, too? There is a glaring gap in our collective mindset — a bridge we need to overcome. The solution to getting our children outdoors is found in that space between sitting on a comfortable sofa in air-conditioned comfort as we share an internet meme spouting the sentimental reminiscences of bygone childhood days where kids played outdoors, rode bicycles and fished using willow switches with worms we dug ourselves — you know, the good ol’ days — and that daunting space where we allow our children to … gulp … do the same.