I was invited to Glenelg Country School, a private school in Howard County,Maryland to listen to Angela Hanscom speak about the importance of outdoor play in the lives of children. Ms. Hanscom is a pediatric occupational therapist, a mother of three, and the founder of TimberNook, a nature-based developmental camp for children. I consider myself someone who believes in the importance of outdoor play, and I was fairly certain I would enjoy her talk. By the end, I was grateful for and impressed by her insight into why outdoor free play and unrestrained movement are vital for the physical, cognitive and emotional development of our children.
As a pediatrician, I have the joy of spending many hours a day with kids from birth to early adulthood. When I listened to Angela Hanscom’s experience and read her book, it was an “Ah Ha” moment. Many of the puzzle pieces fell into place. The goal of this publication is to share my interpretation of the puzzle and discuss how I believe we can work to make our children less anxious, more focused, and MOST importantly…HAPPY!
