Illnesses and Injuries at Nature Preschools

Citation

Frenkel, H., Tandon, P., Frumkin, H., & Vander Stoep, A. (2019). Illnesses and injuries at nature preschools. Environment and Behavior, 51(8), 936-965. doi.org/10.1177/0013916518773469

Link to file

Nature preschools are becoming more popular. Until now, there hasn’t been much research on how they affect children’s health.

Researchers wanted to find out whether nature preschools and conventional preschools differ when it comes to illness and injury rates. So they compared what actually happened at both types of schools.

For 14 weeks, teachers at five nature preschools and four conventional preschools in Seattle, Washington tracked absences caused by illness. At two of the nature preschools and three of the conventional ones, teachers also logged any injuries that happened during the school day.

Researchers found that there was no difference in illness rates between the two types of preschools. And no serious injuries were reported in either setting. The study concluded that nature preschools are a healthy and safe model for child care.

Abstract

A binder with a larger version of the log shown above, with spacing set for eight children on each page, was provided to preschool teachers participating in this study. The log was created to enable teachers to systematically and easily record absences due to illness and injuries occurring during the preschool day. All preschool teachers received a 15 to 20 min training on how to use the log prior to the start of the study.

Nature preschools, where children spend the entire school day outdoors, are increasingly popular, but their health consequences have not been well researched. This study tested the hypothesis that nature preschools and conventional preschools differ in their illness and injury incidence, by comparing observed illness and injury occurrence in the two types of schools. For 14 weeks, teachers at five nature preschools and four conventional preschools in Seattle, Washington logged absences due to illness. Two nature preschools and three conventional preschools also logged injuries that occurred during the school day. There was no difference in illness incidence by preschool type, and no serious injuries were reported in either setting. Overall, the study found that nature preschools are a healthy and safe child-care model.