THIS year’s Christmas wishlist in our house makes for interesting reading.
“Rope, with carabenirs. Small saw. Hammock (green). Book about knots. WARM hat, no ear flaps….”
It sounds like they are planning to depart on a Ray Mears-style survival trek (although I reckon he would definitely go for ear flaps) - but there is no need for alarm.
The 11-year-old been attending forest school sessions in nearby woodlands since he started school, courtesy of a brilliant local instructor and a visionary headteacher who understood that outdoor learning, exploration and play are just as important as all the classroom-based stuff.
His older brother now volunteers at the sessions, making rope swings, helping to dish out hot chocolate around the campfire and fishing the odd delighted toddler out of a satisfyingly squelchy mud-puddle.
Both boys love this experience and judging by the increasing popularity of the sessions, not just in our home town but around Scotland, they are not alone.
There is a growing understanding that children need their own time and space to play and learn, and of course, the health and wellbeing benefits of simply doing something physical or creative outside in the fresh air are well-documented.
The news this week that prescriptions for psychiatric drugs, including antidepressants and sleeping pills, are growing faster for children aged 10 to 14 than any other age group in Scotland is a horrifying glimpse into the lives of our young people.
Read more: Why a ban on smacking is long overdue
I cannot be the only person who read this and thought: how can we be failing our children so spectacularly?
From the inflammatory subject of whether nursery care for young children has a negative impact on their mental health in later years, to the hideous rise of cyber-bullying, the decisions parents take about the care, education and downtime of their children are informed by a bewildering mix of conclusions. No denying it’s exhausting being a parent, but your only job, surely, is to make those decisions based on what’s best for your child?
It would be naïve to suggest a lack of outdoor play is the only problem, but are we making enough of this simple way to improve mental health?
Read more: Why so-called part-time degrees are nothing of the sort
After a couple of hours frog-spotting and den-building, the children who come home are so much more at peace with the world. Teachers note that pupils who take part are more confident and calmer when they return to the classroom.
Put it on the curriculum, build it into childcare at all levels, and it will be, at least, a step in the right direction.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here