Our Early Years Training and Development Lead, Ali Aspin, explores the benefits of getting muddy for Children’s Mental Health Week.
As mental health challenges among children and young people reach unprecedented levels, it becomes more and more important that we create a solid foundation for good mental health and wellbeing in the early years. Connecting children with nature is not only crucial for helping them to develop a lifelong relationship with the natural world, thereby empowering them to protect it, but it’s also an important way we can support children’s mental health in the early years of their development.
We know that playing and learning outdoors benefits children’s mental health, but we also know that educators face a number of barriers to taking children outside — including rainy days! However, bad weather needn’t be an obstacle, especially when we take into consideration the fact that there’s no mud without rain! In this post, our Early Years Training and Development Lead, Ali Aspin, explores how mud play can support children’s mental health in the early years, including ten activities to try ahead of Children’s Mental Health Week.
How mud supports mental health in the early years
Often misinterpreted as the bad guy, mud is sometimes seen as an inconvenience in educational settings. We might stop children running on grass because it’s too mucky, guide children towards the sink when they eagerly show us their mud clad hands, or worry we’ll be burdened with a barrage of parent complaints if we send our little explorers home in dirty clothing.
However, time and time again, research on mud shows that exposure to healthy soil and a diverse range of plants in early childhood can have a profound influence on a child’s growth and development — from boosting the immune system to improving physical and mental health. The years between birth and the start of primary school represent a window for improving life chances and helping all children reach their developmental potential, and getting muddy is a crucial part of this chapter!
Posted On: 25/01/2024
More on: