Amelia Outdoors

Photographer and naturalist Terra Fondriest, spent nearly a decade capturing her daughter’s encounters with nature around their family home in rural Arkansas. One thing that she said really caught my attention. “I find myself ignoring my kids, which I think is one of the best things I can do for them. If you ignore them, they’ll go off and find something to do. They’ll get creative.”

Bravo Terra. I know parents who think it’s their obligation to entertain their kids 24/7. I hear things such as, “they won’t play by themselves” or “they won’t go outside”. Well, dammit, whose fault is that? I actually had a child say to me recently, “Uh, what do I do outside?” Now be honest, isn’t that the saddest thing you’ve ever heard? You couldn’t get me to come inside when I was a child, even if there was no one else around. I’d have a blast outdoors on the swingset, playing in the sandbox, riding my bike, creating stories, and making clouds ‘disappear’. It was such a joy experiencing nature all around me, and I lived in the city.

Children are missing a wonderful experience if they sit inside their four walls. Life is too short for that.

Check out Terra’s article in the Spring issue of Nature Conservancy Magazine.