Dear Dr. Debbie,
I need some good reasons and how-to’s for letting our children, ages 2 ½ and five-years-old play in the dirt.
Have Soap and Water
Dear H.S.& W.,
Apparently a couple generations of air conditioning and video entertainment have conditioned parents to think of the out-of-doors as “uncomfortable,” or “dirty,” even “dangerous.” I’m reminiscing about a childhood with summer vacation spent almost entirely outdoors and you can appreciate how bizarre it seems to me that today’s parents need to be coerced into letting their children play outside and get dirty. Minnesota Children’s Museum agrees. As does the Children and Nature Network. And the North American Association for Environmental Education, the National Wildlife Federation, and many, many others.
Health Benefits
Playing in dirt means you are outside which means fresh air and exercise. Contrast the “stale” air indoors – with accumulating exhaled carbon dioxide and other toxins – with the oxygen-rich air supplied by trees and other plants. Increased oxygen in the bloodstream provides energy and increases metabolism. Fresh air lowers blood pressure, boosts the immune system and improves sleep. Both fresh air and exercise stimulate appetite so there’s a better chance of getting your children to try some nutritious foods. Healthy foods also give energy so your children will want to get outside and play. Playing outside is part of a healthy lifestyle.
Brain Boost
Did you know that playing in dirt could actually make your children smarter and calmer? This follows the scientific wisdom that not all bacteria are bad. One bacterium commonly found in dirt seems to aid learning as well as to reduce anxiety. It can be breathed in as you garden or walk in the woods, or ingested from “dirty” hands that are merely rinsed with water rather than assaulted with sanitizer.
Researcher Christopher Lowry at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine started this line of study with rats, observing reduction of stress and anxiety with injections of mycobacterium vaccae. Cognitive functioning (observed in studies involving learning a maze) was shown to improve in mice due to increased serotonin levels after exposure to m. vaccae. The brain boost persisted for three weeks after exposure. Dr. Lowry is doing more animal studies in the hopes of preventing and treating mental health disorders in humans.
Open-endedness
The creative component to actually playing with dirt may need to be pointed out. Dirt has no directions. No picture on the box of what it should look like when you’re finished. You can pretty much do what you want with it – within reasonable limits of safety and being considerate of others. Generations of children have used dirt for: drawing with a stick, inventing games such as mancala, creating roads and tunnels for toy cars, finding worms, building obstacles for ants to crawl over, making mud pies, burying and digging for “treasure,” and countless other enterprises. Young dirt specialists observe the differences of topsoil, sandy soil, clay, wet soil, dry soil, and apply their growing knowledge to their play. There are limitless possibilities.
In case playing in dirt is new to you, here are some pointers:
Step One: Check the Weather
If your family hasn’t been outside for a generation or two, take note of safety tips regarding extreme weather conditions. A reliable forecast will help you dodge heatstroke, sun poisoning and other problems. If thunderstorms are predicted, you should know that lightening can strike before the rain falls. Take heed when you hear the rumble of distant thunder and note if it’s coming closer. When the time between the flash and the rumble is 30 seconds or less, you should be inside. Thanks to satellites and cell phone technology, you have plenty of warning to avoid outdoor activity in thunderstorms, hurricanes, and such.
Step Two: Dress appropriately
Outdoor enthusiasts believe there is no such thing as “bad weather,” just inappropriate clothing. (Still, we’re not going outside to play in a thunderstorm.) Play clothes should be dirt accommodating: easy to clean or already stained. Appropriate clothing for climbing on rocks would include flexible, closed toed shoes with good traction. The best shoes for wading in a stream are the old sneakers you’ve worn long enough to have a few holes in them. The rubber soles protect you from unseen sticks, rocks and crayfish while the holes keep you from getting too water-logged. Included in my storehouse of childhood memories is the time our mother sent us out in bathing suits in a light summer rain to wash the family car. I recall the tires were rather mud-caked, probably from a recent camping trip. The neighbor kids saw what fun we were having and soon joined in. Then the sun came out and we made rainbows with the hose. Whether or not the car got clean seems irrelevant even now.
Step Three: What to Bring
If this is your first foray into playing in the dirt, you might bring along some props and tools. The more you go out, the more you’ll know what you’ll need, if anything. For starters, try garden trowels or beach shovels. As a toddler, my firstborn had several sturdy margarine tubs that served as dirt toys as well as bath toys. (A factor in choosing good dirt toys is similar to choosing clothing: either easy-to-clean or okay to stay dirty.) If you get into civil engineering – shaping dirt roads, constructing stick buildings, harnessing hose water to make canals – add some toy cars, trucks and boats. When you become serious dirt players, exploring neighborhood beaches and green spaces, you can pack a snack or lunch, and maybe a wet soapy washcloth in a plastic bag. Although, with enough mycobacterium vaccae in your system, you won’t be stressing out so much about clean hands.
Step Four: Find a Good Location
Your nearest dirt patch or pile is probably close to home if not right outside. Planting and maintaining a garden counts as playing in the dirt. Some backyards have a designated dirt area – either because the children already play there enough that the grass doesn’t grow, or a quantity of dirt is put there just for this purpose. If you don’t have dirt just outside, or you hanker to explore, there are local playgrounds and parks galore for everything from quick outings to overnight camping. Check out these websites for good prospects: Anne Arundel County manages several parks, some with beaches. Sandy Point State Park is right off of Route 50 on the Annapolis side of the Bay Bridge. The City of Annapolis Parks, Trails, and Playgrounds webpage boasts 40 places to explore. Visit Annapolis can help you find a park in the area for overnight camping.
Step Five: Respect Plant Life
Learn to respect poison ivy. A park ranger can help you identify it, but the simplest precaution is to stay away from any “leaves of three.” In general, it’s a good idea to teach your children to let living plants be – other than the weeds you choose to remove from your own yard. Edible plants are a tasty and convenient exception. A park program (or experienced child/former child) can show you how to pick wild berries and to strip “honey” from a honeysuckle. A favorite summer pastime on my husband’s block was making mint juice – using a rock and a pot as a mortar and pestle, then adding water. (His mother, for the record, was not thrilled about this!)
Step Six: Know Your Insects
At Brownie Day Camp I learned how to gently play with a daddy longlegs and how to get serious with a potentially disease-carrying tick. These skills held me in good stead among my elementary school peer group. I could nonchalantly take a daddy longlegs off a squeamish classmate and once spotted and removed a tick from another child’s ear. (And flushed it down the toilet.) I still enjoy escorting the harmless spider away from frightened folk of all ages, and I will deftly dispose of the blood sucking ectoparasite when necessary.
You can get better acquainted with all kinds of insects (or rocks, plants, birds, etc.) from field guides or park programs. Chesapeake Children’s Museum, located in the City’s Spa Creek Conservancy Park, has guided Nature Walks each Thursday at 10:30 am. The park is free to visit on your own during daylight hours.
What are you waiting for? Go play in the dirt!
Dr. Debbie
Write your question to Dr. Debbie! Please include age(s) of your child(ren) and other details about the situation or concern.
Deborah Wood, Ph.D. is a child development specialist and founding director of Chesapeake Children’s Museum, located at 25 Silopanna Road in Annapolis. Online reservations are available or call: 410-990-1993. Walk-ins are welcome. There is a Nature Walk on Thursdays at 10:30 am. Art and Story Time with Mrs. Spears and Puppy the Puppet is on Mondays at 10:30 am.
CCM is looking for actors, singers, dancers, ages 8 and up, for a production being presented in Annapolis on Saturday, July 4th. Rehearsals are at CCM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2-4 pm, through July 2. FREE REGISTRATION.
Summer Family Memberships are on sale now. Unlimited admissions for your family through Labor Day.
