“It’s gotten to the point where people don’t know how to explore the outdoors by themselves.” — Marian Goldin, Hudson Highlands Nature Museum
A
lot has changed since the first issue of Hudson Valley Parent rolled off the
presses 20 years ago. Things we take for granted today — like $1,200 infant
strollers and cribs outfitted with video surveillance cameras — would have
seemed like something out of “The Jetsons” to the new moms and dads of 1994.
Two
decades ago, a child’s birthday party typically meant cake and presents on the
back deck; today’s parents increasingly opt for pay-per-kid events at local
dance studios, bounce palaces or gymnastic schools.
Carol
Lundergan of New Paltz has a unique perspective on these changes in family
culture. A mom who raised young kids in the early 90s, she is now the full-time
legal guardian of an 8-year-old girl, a fact that gives her a special insight
into the differences between then and now. The biggest changes, she feels, are
in the arenas of connectivity and structure.
“Parents
are just more involved with their kids nowadays,” she says. “Twenty years ago,
I never spoke to my child’s teacher other than at teacher conferences; now I
can email a teacher any time I want. I also know all the parents this time
around, so there’s a lot more support and communication.”
She
sees this increased communication and involvement as a positive development,
but also worries that it has led to too much rigidity in the lives of today’s
kids. “Raising a child today,” she says, “I see that most kids are very heavily
scheduled. Every second of their day is orchestrated, so they don’t develop the
capacity to be with themselves and build their imagination.”
Wild
Earth in Ulster County aims to have participants unplug from the modern world
and reconnect with world of nature. All participants are required to hand over
their devices before they go into the woods.
Photo credit Maggie Heinzel-Neel
Structured time
Over-reliance
on structured time and constant wireless communication is something that
concerns David Brownstein, co-founder and Executive Director of Wild Earth, a
summer camp and wilderness program operating in the woods of Ulster County’s
Shawangunk Ridge.
The
core Wild Earth program started 11 years ago with a small group of Hudson
Valley parents seeking purer, minimally structured summer camp for their kids.
“In
the past,” explains Brownstein, “There was a lot more time to just explore on
our own, as kids, to create our own fun. Today we see the world as a lot more
structured, and with a lot more distractions.”
Foremost
among these distractions are cell phones and the Internet, which is why Wild
Earth participants are required to hand over their devices before they go into
the trees.
“We
try to create an environment where kids can be outside exploring in the woods,
fields and streams, and follow their natural curiosities and natural interests.
It’s a very natural kind of learning called observation.”
The
idea is to unplug from the modern world and reconnect with world of nature, and
Brownstein believes that the benefits are profound.
“The
biggest thing kids get from our programs is a stronger sense of who they are.”
But
even within a philosophy that promotes unstructured exploration, there is the
need to meet the needs and expectations of today’s families, and so Wild Earth
has evolved and changed with the times, even as it attempts to offer a
counterbalance to modernity.
“We’re
doing much more intentional programming now,” explains Brownstein.
Indeed,
Wild Earth’s website now includes information on dozens of programs for kids,
families and even adults.
Among
these newer offerings include “True North,” a rite-of-passage program described
as “Safe, contained risk-taking” for adolescents, which culminates in a 24-hour
solo experience in the woods.
Outdoor play
Another
local institution that offers today’s over-scheduled families a chance to
rediscover nature is the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum in Cornwall. The
museum, which has an indoor center with educational displays, interactive
exhibits, and live animals, has been around since 1959, but has recently
expanded its focus to meet the needs of kids and families seeking more time in
the open air.
Hudson
Highlands Nature Museum in Cornwall acknowledges the difficulty of letting kids
roam free in this day and age. The museum’s new playground, Grasshopper Grove,
offers a large gated play area, blending the wildness of the woods with some of
the structure and security that today’s parents demand.
Marian
Goldin, the museum’s marketing manager, says, “It’s gotten to the point where
people don’t know how to explore the outdoors by themselves.”
The
solution that the museum offers is a natural experience blending the wildness
of the woods with some of the structure and security that today’s parents
demand.
“Our
new playground, Grasshopper Grove, is a large nature play area that’s gated.
Younger kids can get out and play in nature, and the parents can be there with
them, and they don’t feel insecure.”
In
this same spirit, the museum also offers what Goldin calls “the bunny trails of
hiking,” offering kids and parents a chance to walk, climb and explore without
the more serious challenges of wilder areas frequented by seasoned trekkers.
In
addition, the museum operates popular summer camp programs, including one for
12 to 15-year olds. “It’s a week of camp,” says Goldin, “that ends with an
overnight in the woods where they learn survival skills.”
Early start
Another
prominent trend of today’s parents is the push to stimulate and educate
children at younger ages, and one of the area’s most popular family-friendly
destinations, the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum, is working hard to meet this
need head-on.
Now
located on the Hudson riverfront in Poughkeepsie, the museum was founded in
1989 with the goal of educating kids and families through interactive play. But
after more than two decades of catering to kids of all ages, the museum is now
narrowing its focus.
The Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum in Poughkeepsie now caters
mostly to toddlers and pre-schoolers, offering a structured play space for them
to explore and experience the world safely.
“The
Museum has moved away from being a place for children of all ages to being a
place for the youngest members of our community, children ages 0 to 6,” says
Sara Capozzoli, the museum’s director of public, media and corporate relations.
“Providing young children with a place to develop early learning skills,
helping parents lay a sturdy foundation of health and wellness education and
fostering the idea of community and collaboration among our children is now
what the Children’s Museum aims to do.”
This
change in philosophy can be seen as a direct response to the attitudes and expectations
of today’s parents.
“Parents,
now more than ever, want their children to be ready for school and well
equipped for today’s world,” explains Capozzoli. “The exhibits and programs at
the museum are designed to be a resource for parents and caregivers to raise
well-adjusted, informed, kind, educated children.”
Like
Wild Earth and Hudson Highlands, The Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum offers a very
popular summer camp.
“Our
Summer Camp is something that we are particularly proud of,” says Capozzoli. “The
camps were completely redesigned in 2013 and have received incredibly good
reviews. Designed as a ‘first summer camp experience’ for children ages 3, 4
and 5, our half-day camps feature the fun of a traditional camp experience
while encouraging the development of critical learning skills. Themed learning
camps are packed with hands-on activities that offer age-appropriate
introductions to nature, the human body, art, and science.”
And
while the museum and its programs are not specifically geared to helping
families disconnect from technology, they now seem to embrace a back-to-basics
approach that are compatible with the ideas behind the programs at Wild Earth
and the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum.
As
Capozzoli put it: “Although technology has come a very long way in a short
amount of time, allowing children to learn vital developmental skills is done
without much technology at all.”
Bill Spring is a
freelance writer living in New Paltz with his wife and two daughters.