Encountering Animals Cultivates Meaningful Shared Experiences Between Children and Parents

Abstract

ABSTRACT Childhood nature experiences – particularly those shared with caregivers – have consistently, over decades of research, been linked to children’s health, as well as their developing environmental commitments. Notably, animal interactions have been shown to play key roles in children’s psychological wellbeing and their developing conservation concerns. We investigated nature experiences children share with their parents, with a particular focus on those that involve interactions with animals. Parents (n = 49) of young children completed a written survey in which they provided a short narrative describing a significant experience in nature that they had shared with their child. The narrative accounts were systematically coded and interrater reliability was attained. The qualitative findings offer a rich account of nature experiences that children and parents share. Three broad themes were identified – (1) Typology of Nature Experiences, (2) Psychosocial Factors, and (3) Relational Bonding – and are illustrated and discussed within the context of promoting healthy childhood relationships with their caregivers and the wider natural world.