Kelsie Prabawa-Sear, CEO of Nature Play WA, joined Bec and Asa on drive to discuss the transition for children into teenage years and how screen time replaces outdoor play.
Kelsie began by saying how passionate she was about this topic.
“We are talking about connecting with teens, screens, and nature because we know that you don’t see a lot of teenagers out and about playing.”
She listed one of the main reasons being that when asked, teenage boys crave more adventurous and risky play.
“They need stuff they can climb and jump off and you know, they can have nice adrenaline rushes from doing, which is actually a really important part of development.”
As for teenage girls, “We want spaces that look and feel nice, like lots of greenery and flowers and water.”
She explained that girls want to feel comfortable and safe. Many teenagers are feeling like play spaces are designed for younger kids, which doesn’t allow for much outdoor play for them.
There is a Need
“Teenagers like to be outside. They do like to be out of their bedrooms despite the stereotypes. And they like to be together, whether it doesn’t matter really, boys and girls all together or separately.”
Socialisation is important for teenagers and nature offers a serene environment for that to take place.
“Not necessarily like a manicured park, but places like national parks and stuff where you can go for a bit of a hike, might be able to climb up a bit, get some height. Those sort of spaces, even things like abseiling and paddling, really appeal to teenagers.”
Teenagers need to be offered the opportunities to engage in this experiences.
Parental Prompting
Kelsie expressed her empathy for parents who find it challenging to get their kids off screens and looking for new opportunities.
“It is hard and I know that personally and professionally it’s not that easy, especially as our teens get older and we want them to have some autonomy around their screen use. It is about having an expectation of my kids that you are outside for certain periods of time each day.”
She said that giving them options of how they want to use their outdoor time is helpful for their autonomy.
“I say to my kids, you can pick, you can choose. Do you want to go for a ride? Do you want to go to the park? What do you want to do? And we just do it.”
Establish Expectations
“I think for parents, even though our kids are getting older, we still need to hold that expectation,” said Kelsie, “That they can’t just sit around on their phone all day.”
She argued, “It’s not good for them, it’s not good for mental health, it’s not good for physical health and we know it. So just having that expectation and holding them to account is important.”
Check out the full chat with Kelsie Prabawa-Sear below.