Adult–Child Nature Visits Associate with 2- to 7-Year-Old Children's Nature Connectedness

Abstract

The connection that children have with nature appears to be weakening, which is a concern because nature connection is associated with children's environmentally friendly behavior as well as with their health and well-being. However, the relationship between family nature visits and young children's connection to nature is a fairly unexplored topic. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between the frequency of adult–child nature visits and 2- to 7-year-old children's nature connectedness (NC) using cross-sectional survey data from the Finnish project titled Naturkraft (Empowered by nature). We also examined whether socioeconomic and sociodemographic factors moderated the associations. The questionnaire respondents were parents, mainly mothers, (n = 1463) of children aged 2–7 years. Multinomial logistic regression analyses and moderator analyses were conducted. The results based on the parent-reported questionnaire revealed that when children visited nature with an adult in the family once a week or more, their overall NC was greater, they more likely derived greater enjoyment from nature and displayed stronger sense of responsibility toward nature than children who had a lower frequency of adult–child nature visits. Some of the associations were moderated by child's gender and the region of residence. The results highlight the importance of frequent family nature visits during early childhood, as this can contribute to raising environmentally responsible children who enjoy and value nature.