Benefits of Nature on Children’s Developmental Needs: A Review

Abstract

The past few decades have shown that the opportunity for children to have a direct connection with nature and outdoor environment declined due to rapid urbanization. Children face various physical and health problems as consequences from this phenomenon. This paper presents a review on benefits of nature on children’s developmental needs. The review also highlights children’s experience in nature and the effect of disconnection from nature. In summary, it is crucial to understand children’s view towards nature and environment in creating spaces that reconnect them with nature. Designing for children today is indeed designing for the future as well.Keywords: Children, nature, connection, developmental needseISSN 2398-4295 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.