How To Raise A Wild Child & The 6 Reasons You Want To

There is a certain magic to a childhood adventure: It stems from the rush that comes with movement, the wonder that lives in nature, and the vast possibilities found in creative play. But between the creeping call of screen time and the pressure to do more, schedule more, and achieve more—there's a risk of losing this young freedom. Many experts fear, too, that its loss will come at a cost.

"I think it's just important for humans to be outdoors in general," says Aliza Pressman, Ph.D., the cofounding director and director of clinical programming for the Mount Sinai Parenting Center. "Not just for a sense of adventure but for being present, slowing down mentally, and understanding the world around you."

"There is significant research that shows how important physical activity is for brain development and mental health," says Beurkens. "And especially with younger kids, their brains grow and develop through movement. And even older kids, when they get into school, the research shows that kids who are active perform better academically."

We all—adults and kids—need unstructured time to unwind and recharge. It's what helps us perform better when we come back to school or work. And when kids' days are too regimented and packed with playdates and extracurricular activities, they internalize the fact that downtime isn't important and you don't need to make room for it.

And in adults, we know burnout is real and happens when we don't take enough breaks to regroup. Well, kids need to learn this lesson too. And you, as a mindful parent, might try to stress to your kids that work-life balance is important to your overall health, but unless you show them early on how to have regular unstructured time, you might be sending them mixed signals. "You can tell your kids all you want that it's really important to take time for themselves," says Pressman. "But if you don't give yourself and your child the opportunity to be calm and have unstructured time, you are just showing them that it actually shouldn't be a priority and you should put it after everything else."

"This helps kids develop higher thinking skills and understand the world around them," says Beurkens. "This is how kids become resilient: Try something and if it doesn't work, try it another way until you figure it out."

Parents might have the best of intentions when they step in to help kids, but letting your kids struggle is what makes them problem-solvers. It's especially important to do this while your kids are young, while the stakes are low. For example, figuring out how to work with their friends to build a fort in your backyard has few consequences, but it will let them practice working in groups, which will be valuable later in life.

Boundaries and freedom might seem like opposite lessons, but they are actually just two sides of the same coin. When you are constantly setting parameters of what sort of play is considered OK, you're not letting them learn their own limits.

Kids are supposed to jump on and off things, run around, and roughhouse. Sure, maybe this means they might trip or scrape a few things, but then they understand later how to control their bodies so they don't bang and bump themselves. "Of course, this is all within limits; I'm not suggesting you let your kid engage in stupid, unsafe behavior," says Pressman. But, she notes, if it's something like easy roughhousing, you should let your kid explore their physical boundaries.

"A kid who goes out and does something on their own, for themselves, is a kid who grows up with the knowledge of, Hey I can handle things and take care of myself," says Beurkens.

And this confidence, teacher and author Esther Wojcicki, once told us, comes from earning and having your trust. Just think about your own behavior when someone does the same to you: "Have you ever had someone in your life that you've looked up to, loved, respected, and trusted?" she says. "And then all of a sudden they show you trust in return? It changes the view of yourself—all of a sudden you can believe in yourself."