Children’s disconnection from nature fuels emotional and behavioural challenges

Growing separation from the natural world is impacting children’s emotional wellbeing, confidence, and resilience, raising concerns about long-term health and cognitive development.

Children’s relationship with the natural world is fraying, and the consequences are showing up in classrooms, playgrounds and family life. In one account from a Hungarian book excerpt, a lesson in an school garden was derailed when a second-year pupil had a panic attack after seeing an insect. The teacher said the child did not go on family walks, travelled everywhere by car and did not take part in school outings, a pattern that reflects how easily some children can now be overwhelmed by ordinary outdoor experiences.

The issue is not just sensitivity to insects or weather. It is a broader loss of familiarity with mud, grass, branches, uneven ground and the give-and-take of unstructured play. The author argues that many parents are wary of forest schools, excursions and outdoor learning because children are thought to be unaccustomed to walking, cold, heat or ticks. That caution may feel protective in the short term, but it can leave children less able to adapt to their surroundings and less likely to build the confidence that comes from moving freely through them.

Research cited in the book suggests that this distance from nature can shape behaviour and emotional wellbeing. In a doctoral study by Somogyi Angéla, many children asked to draw a “safe place” after a relaxation exercise did not depict nature at all, and only a small share produced drawings with a warm emotional tone. The same work found that some children had narrow colour use in their drawings, which the researcher interpreted as evidence of a shallow or missing emotional connection to the natural world. Interviews also showed that many of the children had little direct experience of rolling in grass, walking through autumn leaves or going on family hikes.

The book’s argument is reinforced by wider research. The Child Mind Institute says time outdoors can make children happier, calmer and more attentive, while unstructured play in natural settings can strengthen creativity and confidence. A study published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications found that heavier screen use in American children and adolescents was associated with more depression and anxiety, with physical activity and sleep helping to explain the link. Other research reviewed in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health has linked reduced contact with nature to higher rates of depression, obesity and diabetes, alongside cognitive and emotional drawbacks.

There is also evidence that nature can support recovery and resilience. Cambridge researchers found that during the first Covid lockdown, children who deepened their connection to nature tended to show fewer behavioural and emotional problems. The book also points to studies suggesting that time in forests can reduce stress, improve mood and sharpen problem-solving, while green surroundings have been associated with lower rates of heart disease, diabetes and asthma in some populations. For children, the message is straightforward: regular access to nature is not an optional extra, but part of healthy development.