Reflect

Ominously known in meteorological parlance as a ‘weather bomb’, our UK and Irish readers will be well aware that storm Éowyn unleashed violent winds over much of the country. In rural Scotland, my parents were without power for a full day, and had a candlelit supper cooked on their wood burning stove (I suspect it might sound more romantic than it was). An attempted daytime trip to the local supermarket found the roads treacherous and blocked with fallen trees. In the mountains of Wales, my brother spent much of Friday in wild weather, attempting in vain to secure the roof of a very large static caravan on his property, which had peeled back like a tin can lid, leaving everything inside open to the elements. So I can’t really complain. Plus, I can see nodding snowdrops in the garden and around the woods, so hopefully better things are to come.

That’s the thing with storms. They can tear through our lives, leaving damage and disruption in their wake, but they do pass. The promise of better days - like the snowdrops peeking through - might remind us of the resilience we all need to weather life’s challenges. It sounds a bit ‘cheesy’, but for many of us, after all the clouds, the sun will inevitably peek through again. Yet, when we are caught in the middle of a storm, it’s a very different story. Without the right preparation and protection, we are likely to feel vulnerable, exposed and unsure of how to move forward. Our children are at the start of the journey towards learning how to navigate everyday ups and downs, and manage the rainbow of emotions that they are likely to experience. If they aren’t equipped with some effective tools and strategies, life’s storms can potentially feel overwhelming.

In a metaphor that seems particularly apt for our recent stormy skies, we could visualise resilience and mental toughness as a protective raincoat for life’s downpours. Coats don’t stop the rain from falling, but hopefully they do keep us dry. Popping on our waterproofs provides us and our children with an impermeable outer layer, one from which the odd mean comment or negative thought can bounce off, just like rain would. Wearing a resilient raincoat isn’t about ignoring problems or shielding our children from every challenge, but it is a metaphor that might help to prepare them for some of the things that life might throw at them, and encourage them to think about how to move forward during times of discomfort. It’s worth remembering that resilient raincoats aren’t made overnight. They’re stitched together over time, through conversations, role modelling, and practice. We can’t stop storms from rolling in, but we can try to give our children the tools to weather them with confidence.

Motivate

We now know conclusively that being outdoors, particularly in natural environments, reduces our stress levels, both in terms of physiological signals like heart rate, cortisol levels and blood pressure, and in terms of our levels of emotional or psychological stress. For children, being connected to, or even just having access to nature is associated with fewer emotional and behavioural problems, provides opportunities for social development, and is thought to increase their capacity to focus on tasks. Outdoor sporting activities have been found to help children and young people engage with peers, develop crucial social skills, reduce feelings of loneliness and increase levels of social connectedness. Children who actively engage with nature and participate in outdoor activities have also been found to have fewer general mental health difficulties and greater emotional wellbeing. Spending time in nature is also considered essential to countering some of the worries that children might have about climate change; something that psychiatrists report as a large and growing source of distress for young people seeking clinical help. It’s all good stuff!

As parents, I think we are all well aware of the benefits when we get our children out of the house and into the great outdoors. But are you an educator who is thinking about taking learning outside? Well, one of our conference speakers, (soon to be Dr) Lewis Stockwell, Principal Lecturer in Philosophy of Education and Outdoor Education at the University of Hertfordshire, told us that whilst simply ‘being in nature’ has a range of positive impacts on embodied physical and mental health, just getting the kids outside isn’t enough to yield improved attainment, wellbeing or social improvement in learners. Instead, educators need to do something purposeful with the natural space, considering what skills they would like children to develop and how they want them to do it (in just the same way as they would with classroom activities).

When purposefully designed, nature-based learning can positively impact wellbeing and enable rich learning experiences connected to all curriculum subjects. Lewis notes that purposeful outdoor learning, along with adequate time for reflection, can develop children’s sense of adventurousness, lead to increased feelings of self-efficacy, and increase their ability to cope with difficulties and setbacks (back to weathering those storms). Research literature shows that psychological growth happens when we experience states of manageable uncertainty, and activities outdoors can provide this appropriate level of challenge. They can give children the opportunity to frame experiences differently and develop their skills of inquiry, problem solving, creativity, negotiation, communication and observation, and hone their ability to make connections between abstract concepts and real life concrete situations. Lewis also reflected on the fact that adventure is a state of mind and that children don’t need to be taken off on a camping trip to the wilderness to learn outdoors. Outdoor learning should be inclusive, regular and involve learning challenges that make use of local environments. Activities might involve classic outdoor skills, like fire lighting, den building or cooking, but they don’t need to. Everyday learning can also be transposed to an outdoor setting. As Julia Hutchison, teacher and head of outdoor learning at St Mary’s School in Cambridge, notes, “I want teachers to realise that you can take a normal lesson outside. You don’t have to change everything”.

If you’d like some ideas for outdoor learning activities, our conference speakers suggest ​​Teach Outdoors, Learning Through Landscapes, The Institute of Outdoor Learning, the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, Creative Star Learning, Cross-curricular Orienteering and Outdoor Play and Learning, all of which offer materials and resources designed to improve the quality of outdoor play and learning in schools. You can also get free seeds for planting from Cultivating Change and find some great resources on Wildlife Watch, the Woodland Trust and the Royal Horticultural Society websites.

Support

Roblox’s blocky characters and bright colours make it appear safe and fun, but as we learned in a recent Tooled Up webinar from expert and former police officer, Lucy Howard, it is not without risk. Many of us careful, loving parents allow our children to use it and over a hundred ‘Tooled Up’ parents tuned in to listen to Lucy’s presentation last Monday.

In the third quarter of 2024, Roblox games were being played by over 34 million daily users under the age of 13. Roblox is incredibly popular because it’s more than just a game. It’s a platform where users can create their own experiences and games. This user-generated content, paired with social interaction, can be a huge draw for young people looking for connection and creativity. But like any online space, Roblox can also expose children to harms. I certainly wasn’t aware that Hindenburg Research recently called the Roblox platform an, “X-rated paedophile hellscape, exposing children to grooming, pornography, violent content and extremely abusive speech”. These are emotive and frankly scary words which will cause any parent or carer with a child interested in or already accessing the platform to take pause.

Roblox tries hard to block so-called ‘condo games’ which feature sexual content, but it is not always successful. Children may also come across tie-ins to adult TV shows, such as ‘Shrimp Games’ (similar to Squid Games). At the time of writing, ‘Doors’ and ‘Survive Nightmare’ are popular horror games on the platform which aren't really suitable for young children, but are played by many. Another feature of many experiences is ‘billboards’. Like giant advertising boards, these are built into games by creators, who can write whatever they want onto them. Some do not feature very savoury messages! Children might also receive multiple friend requests from people they don’t know, come across user generated content trying to encourage them to engage on other platforms (such as Discord), or be enticed to follow scam offers of free robux (the platform’s currency with which they can buy coveted ‘skins’ for their avatars).

Lucy’s practical presentation noted that whilst it may seem overwhelming to think about all the potential dangers, and tempting just to prevent our children from playing it full stop, there are several concrete steps that we can take to help them navigate Roblox as safely and responsibly as possible. Firstly, play the game with them. It might be tedious at times (or you might love it), but having an awareness of the experiences that they are interacting with is invaluable. Ask them to show you around, and take a non-judgemental, genuine interest! Talk to them about their online world. If gaming is one of their hobbies, chat about it! Secondly, make use of the parental settings that are offered. Roblox has recently updated the platform to encourage more involvement from parents. This allows parents a higher level of access, but also places responsibility for the controls firmly with us, rather than the platform. Activating parental controls on Roblox is not especially intuitive. It can be a frustrating process - one which requires identity verification with a passport and facial recognition - but it’s well worth doing in order to increase safety levels. Once activated, parental controls allow you to ensure that the correct date of birth is entered (protecting children from adult content), enable two factor authentication (minimising the risk of hacking), keep an eye on their friends list, enable account restrictions and monthly spending limits, and limit or close chat functions. One of the main draws of Roblox is talking to their friends whilst playing, but Lucy suggests that they simply videocall each other instead, rather than chat within the game.

Again, building resilience is key. Talk to children about potential dangers of information leakage. Many young children know not to use their personal name as a username, but they may be less clear on the dangers of sharing other information about themselves (using their favourite character or football club as their skin, for example). Groomers are clever! It’s vital to help children to understand that everything they use should be impersonal. Talk to them about the scams and risks that they might come across. Chat about any times that you’ve been tricked by someone, or other experiences that you have had online. Help them understand that it can happen to anyone. Finally, keep Roblox as a family activity, away from their bedrooms and away from bedtime. Open conversations and mutually agreed rules will help children to be honest about their gaming. We don’t want them to start playing secretly, or on a friend's device, as this makes their exposure to risk far greater.

Children’s interactions with the digital world may not be quite like a storm, but they certainly bring new challenges to family life. As our children grow and develop, the digital world introduces obstacles we can’t always foresee. With a bit of planning, open communication, and (let’s be honest) a little trial and error, we can help our children to navigate a mutually acceptable path. Just as with any journey, equipping them with the right tools, knowledge and understanding is the key to helping them reach their destination safely. Keep the lines of communication open, stay involved, and adjust your approach as needed. By embracing this process, we can help our children weather the world’s storms and continue to grow, both on and offline.