


Climbing a tree. Catching a tadpole. Making a mudpie. These childhood memories are fast fading in a world infiltrated by mind-goggling computer games and addictive television programs.

But Western Australia is leading a new charge to get kids barefoot, wet and dirty, all in the aim of making them smarter, wiser and more able to handle the challenges of the modern world.

Build a sand castle city - one of the 15 things children should do before they reach the age of 12.


More than 40,000 "passports" are being distributed to West Australian primary school students with a list of the 15 things they must do before they turn 12.

It includes activities such as playing in a creek and sleeping under the stars which may get their parents taking a happy trip down memory lane.



Tell us your favourite childhood memory of playing outside in the comments section below


But Griffin Longley, chief executive officer of Nature Play WA, which created the passports in conjunction with the Department of Sport and Recreation, said over-protective parents and the alluring world of technology meant the majority of WA kids were missing out on the essential benefits of getting close to nature.

That had contributed to 14 per cent of WA children developing a mental health disorder and 24 per cent being overweight or obese, he said.

"The average Australian primary school kid spends less than two hours outside, that includes weekends and school holidays," Mr Longley said.

"Our childhood used to be an outdoor, imaginative, free ranging experience. [Today it's] an indoor, sedentary experience.

"It's a dramatic change that's really only happened in this generation and there are all sorts of ramifications with that."

Mr Longley said there was an obvious spark among children who regularly played outside.

"When you meet them their eyes are just that little bit brighter and a bit more engaged," he said.

"You can tell ... which ones do it and which ones don't."

Curtin University academic Sonja Kuzich said it was startling that in just one generation, outdoor play had declined from 73 per cent to 13 per cent of total play time.

Ms Kuzich said the impact of children's disconnection with nature was manifold, impacting on wellbeing and cognitive and physical health.

"A great deal of evidence shows that early exposure of children to free, unstructured play in nature before the age of 12 develops a lifelong fascination, care and respect for the environment," she said.

"Immersion in natural landscapes, such as forested areas, also promotes a sense of awe, wonder and an appreciation of the 'magic' of nature in children.

"With the proliferation of artfully landscaped and manicured suburban housing developments, 'litigation proof' council playgrounds and school grounds, coupled with the parental fear factor, there is little space left for children to enjoy access to the natural environment."

Ms Kuzich will discuss the topic at the inaugural Flourish Symposium in Margaret River later this week.

Parenting commentator and former West Australian Maggie Dent said getting kids back to the basics could improve their behaviour, concentration and emotional levels.

"Children who have their shoes on all the time, their brain won't be as clever as children who are barefoot," she said.

"Children learn best and play best when they're about level four of calm and focus, so if you spend too much time inside, particularly boys or very strong charactered children with lots of energy, it builds up.

"Nature has a way of calming them and soothing them ... so they get along better, think better, learn better, question better [because] they're interacting with a world that is full of fascinating things."

Ms Dent said Nature Play WA's passport initiative was being watched across the country.

"WA has actually got the strongest movement for returning children to play outside, getting them wet, cold, dirty..." she said.

The state government put its support behind moves to get kids outside when it committed $2 million in funding over four years for Nature Play WA in this year's state budget.

Mr Longley said the organisation's first extensive program, the passports, already was proving a success, with Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory showing interest.

The game involves children completing one of the 15 activities and collecting a stamp to put in their passport.

But the children and not their parents have shown the most resistance to participating.

"The parents remember that kind of play and it strikes a chord with them in a really fundamental way," Mr Longley said.

"The kids sometimes like the idea of it and they like the idea of stickers and stamps and having a passport is cool, but a lot of them are locked into the visual entertainment world so it takes a lot of effort for parents to break that cycle.

"It's something that doesn't happen immediately [but] we know it's important to try."

Mr Longley said initiatives to get kids outside could not compete with technology and were often incorporating the two.

A global GPS treasure hunt called geocaching is an example of how technology-savvy kids can still get outdoors. The game involves participants using their GPS or mobile phone to find caches hidden by other players in their neighbourhood.

"That's a way that kids and their parents can get out an engage in their environment around them," Mr Longley said.

"It's using technology that helps maintain kids' interest."

Scouts WA Chief Commissioner Larry Lucas said he was not surprised that the amount of time children spent outdoors had decreased so much in one generation.

"That's basically what our experience is telling is, it's just the way society is changing, it has impacted on the way children are spending time watching television and other media to escape."

Children who take part in Scouts participate in a variety of outdoor based activities including bushwalking, sailing, camping and canoeing.

Mr Lucas said these activities encouraged development, good self esteem and resilience and helped children integrate into society with life skills.

He said scouting numbers in WA had increased by about 30 per cent in the last three or four years.

Fifteen things to do before you're 12

  1. Climb a tree
  2. Build a cubby house
  3. Sleep under the stars
  4. Invent a game that lasts three days
  5. Learn to swim
  6. Catch a wave
  7. Play in the bush
  8. Play in a creek
  9. Visit a national park
  10. Play in the rain
  11. Catch a tadpole
  12. Make a mudpie
  13. Build a sand castle city
  14. Plant something and watch it grow
  15. Learn to ride a bike

- with Aleisha Orr

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