Growing up healthy in the city: Pathways to child health and development benefits from nature

Abstract

Parks are an important health setting for children living in cities, providing opportunities for play and exposure to nature. While there is growing evidence of associations between nature and physical, social, emotional and cognitive health and development outcomes for young children, few studies have specifically examined how young urban dwelling children interact with different types of nature and how these experiences may contribute to child health and development. The aim of this thesis is to investigate associations between healthy child development and exposure to, and interaction with, specific elements of nature while considering family and community contexts.In Study 1, I reviewed potential mechanisms identified in the literature by which urban parks promote child development, and tested empirically whether park provision in Brisbane, Australia, is associated with five child development domains, together referred to as ‘school readiness’. I estimated the contribution to child development of natural features in the urban landscape (the amount and type of publicly available parks and tree cover) and area-related socio-economic factors (i.e. relative disadvantage and population density) using a subset of data from the 2012 Australian Early Development Census (N = 11,509 children aged 4-7 in 118 suburb-size geographical units). I discovered that the proportion of children with on-track emotional development increased with local park area and the proportion of tree cover at district parks (Cohen’s f2=0.16), and that the proportion of children with on-track social development increased with district park area and the proportion of tree cover at local parks (Cohen’s f2=0.34). No park variables were significantly linked to physical health and wellbeing. These results suggest that the availability of parks in Brisbane may contribute moderate and statistically significant effects towards healthy child development as one of a broad range of factors. Possible explanations for these differences derived from the literature are explored.In Study 2, I conducted a mixed methods ‘play-along’ investigation of how parent-child interactions with natural and built features at urban parks have potential to confer benefits related to school readiness. Ten parent-child dyads participated in a walking play-centred interview through three types of green space (i.e. designed, managed and unmanaged). Video and audio recordings were taken, and participants wore an accelerometer. I integrated data from a number of quantitative (behaviour mapping, physical activity intensity, survey questions) and qualitative (qualitative visual analysis, semi-structured interview, child photography) approaches to develop propositions about how play and parent-child interactions in different park spaces are likely to contribute to child development.Designed nature settings (e.g. a playground with integrated natural features) offered opportunities for significantly more independent, physically active play but very few direct interactions with nature. Parents reported they seldom visited park areas beyond the playground. Managed open green spaces and pathways afforded nearly the same amount of moderate to vigorous activity as in designed spaces, and included more frequent observations of nature and affectionate parent-child interactions. Children were drawn to explore the meaning of signage and graffiti, supplementing their emergent literacy. Time in unmanaged space near a creek was more sedentary as parents engaged in significantly greater amounts of teaching while families managed risk, searched for wildlife and participated in experimental play with sticks and leaves. Parents were concerned about the risks present, but also appreciated a sense of escape and ‘being away’. Overall, I concluded that play in managed and unmanaged nature settings offers a complementary ‘menu’ of play experiences to those in designed settings.As urban populations continue to grow at a rapid rate and demands on space increase, policy makers need clear evidence about the effectiveness of parks for promoting human health and wellbeing. My findings suggest that different types of green spaces offer opportunities for qualitatively different types of play and parent-child interactions that help prepare children for a good start at school. A major contribution of this thesis is the focus on a broad range of benefits to children beyond physical activity, the main focus of academic literature to date. Additionally, this thesis provides a unique preliminary investigation of the benefits from parent-child interactions in park settings beyond the playground, highlighting an under-researched pathway for nature to contribute to the wellbeing of urban families. The findings suggest a clear need to retain, and where possible enhance, opportunities for children to play in natural and semi-natural settings within towns and cities to promote multiple aspects of child development and wellbeing.