Spending time in nature promotes early childhood development

Date:
October 21, 2021
Source:
University of British Columbia
Summary:
Want to ensure your child hits their expected developmental
milestones? New research suggests living in areas with high
exposure to green-space can help set them up for success.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
Want to ensure your child hits their expected developmental
milestones? New UBC research suggests living in areas with high exposure
to greenspace can help set them up for success.


==========================================================================
For the study, researchers at the UBC faculty of forestry and faculty
of medicine analyzed the developmental scores of 27,372 children in
Metro Vancouver who attended kindergarten between 2005 and 2011. They
estimated the amount of greenspace around each child's residence from
birth to age five. They also assessed levels of traffic-related air
pollution and community noise.

The results highlight the fundamental importance of natural green spaces
like street trees, parks and community gardens, authors say.

"Most of the children were doing well in their development, in terms of language skills, cognitive capacity, socialization and other outcomes,"
says study author Ingrid Jarvis (she/her), a PhD candidate in the
department of forest and conservation sciences at UBC. "But what's
interesting is that those children living in a residential location with
more vegetation and richer natural environments showed better overall development than their peers with less greenspace." According to the researchers, the reason for this is partly greenspaces' ability to
reduce the harmful effects of air pollution and noise - - environmental challenges that have been shown to adversely affect children's health
and development through increased stress, sleep disturbances and central nervous system damage.

"Few studies have investigated this pathway linking greenspace and developmental outcomes among children, and we believe this is the first Canadian study to do so," adds Jarvis.

The researchers assessed early childhood development using the Early Development Instrument (EDI), a survey completed by kindergarten
teachers for each child. The tool measures a child's ability to meet age-appropriate developmental expectations.

"More research is needed, but our findings suggest that urban planning
efforts to increase greenspace in residential neighbourhoods and around
schools are beneficial for early childhood development, with potential
health benefits throughout life," says the study's senior author and
UBC research associate, Matilda van den Bosch(she/her).

"Time in nature can benefit everyone, but if we want our children to have
a good head start, it's important to provide an enriching environment
through nature contact. Access to greenspace from a very young age can
help ensure good social, emotional and mental development among children." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_British_Columbia. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Ingrid Jarvis, Zoe" Davis, Hind Sbihi, Michael Brauer, Agatha
Czekajlo,
Hugh W Davies, Sarah E Gergel, Martin Guhn, Michael Jerrett,
Mieke Koehoorn, Tim F Oberlander, Jason Su, Matilda van den
Bosch. Assessing the association between lifetime exposure to
greenspace and early childhood development and the mediation
effects of air pollution and noise in Canada: a population-based
birth cohort study. The Lancet Planetary Health, 2021; 5 (10):
e709 DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00235-7 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211021121016.htm

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