Wolves By Renee Askins: An Analysis

It has always been said that children should experience nature especially children that live in a big city who are not accustomed to the natural world. But why is it that children need to experience nature? What exactly are the benefits of children being in contact with the natural world? In the book Wolves by Renee Askins brings up a few good points on why being in contact with nature is important in a child’s formative years. Askins states
“Early contact with animals and wild places can help to develop a matured empathy and capacity for human relationships, for our connection with a sense of place and landscape, all of which are critical to the unfolding of our personalities and our feelings of belonging to a greater planetary community of creatures, place, and people”.
This quote is very powerful, and what is said is very true. Children who are exposed to nature end up having more respect for nature as well as feeling like a part of it, and are able to connect more with people, and there surroundings.
Research indicates that the amount of time spent in nature benefits a child’s physical, cognitive, language development, social, and overall emotional health (Claffey Institute for child development and family relations). As you can see there are many benefits of the natural world on a child’s development. So instead of letting your child play video games or watch a TV show. Encourage them to play outside or take them to a park of some sort. There are also many different summer camps that revolve around nature. Not only will a child end up having much fun engaging with nature, but also they will benefit from all the positive effects that nature has to