For more info: Fairplay Screentime Action Network

Fairplay's Children and Family Nature Appreciation Guide

Hillary Wilkinson:

As we round the corner on Spring, many of us are looking ahead to Summer months and lots of fun! So in my family this often includes a brainstorming session for like a bucket list of fun things to do and a big push to be outside. And sometimes it can help to have a boost in the brainstorming department. And this year I'm really excited for our newest boost, which is going to be this fantastic resource being distributed by the Nature and Play work group from the Screen Action Network at Fair Play, a work group that yours truly is both a member and supporter of . My guest today is one of the co-chairs of the Nature and Play work group. She's someone whom I've had the pleasure of meeting with regularly online as this resource went from idea to design to release, and is just a fantastic person all the way around. I'm thrilled to say Welcome to Healthy Screen Habits, Jean Rystrom.

Jean Rystrom: (01:59)

Thank you so much Hillary, and thank you so much for having me on your podcast.

Hillary Wilkinson: (02:04)

I'm excited you're here. I'm excited to talk about this. It feels like it's been a while in the works!

Jean Rystrom: (02:10)

It has been Me too. .

Hillary Wilkinson: (02:12)

Just in case we have listeners who haven't had a chance to learn about the Screen Time Action Network at Fairplay, I'm going to spend a little bit chatting about that at first. So The Action Network is a coalition of practitioners, educators, advocates, and parents working to promote a healthy childhood by reducing the amount of time kids spend with digital devices. And within this network are a series of work groups each with their own mission that sort of collectively supports the greater mission. Jean, what can you tell us about the Nature and Play work group and its specific mission?  (weird pause)

Jean Rystrom: (03:04)

We, uh, promote nature as a healthier alternative, even maybe an antidote to screen time. 

Jean Rystrom: (03:12)

We help families cultivate the magic that happens when they slow down and leave their screens behind and allow the natural world to feed their children's minds and spirits work group members include people have, have children who work with children or who are otherwise working to improve, improve the lives of children by increasing the amount of time children spend playing in nature.

Hillary Wilkinson: (03:35)

I love it and I love that you, um, mention the thing that we are hearing more and more about, which is the antidote quality that nature has for tech. It's recently been brought to my attention that there are several pediatricians in our area. I don't know if this is like gone national or not, but who are actually prescribing two hours of outdoor play a day for eye health.

Jean Rystrom: (04:08)

Absolutely. I think pediatricians are really at the forefront of this, um, in, in two different ways. One way is that they see the harms and um, and really wanna to help families get to the alternatives. Um, but the other way is that they, they also have to deal with reality and where families are currently. So their job really is to help families move from where they are now to a place that's a little bit healthier.

Hillary Wilkinson: (04:34)

Yeah. Yeah. So what brought you to the Action Network?

Jean Rystrom: (04:40)

Well, I've sort of been with the Action Network from before the beginning. I would say. Um, I've been involved with, um, screen time reduction efforts since my son was born in the late 1990s. Um, and because I was working in healthcare with pediatricians, I was aware of the many negative risks that were associated with screen time. So I started applying what I was learning both at home and at work because pediatricians are able to raise awareness of the risks associated with screen time: increases in obesity, bullying other aggressive behaviors, smoking, depression, early sexual activity, and decreases in attention, academic success and sleep. Mm-Hmm. 

So at the same time my public health friends were suggesting that the most powerful approach to helping people to reduce their screen time was to offer alternatives. Instead of just saying, “Don't do this!” tell them what they can do instead.

Jean Rystrom: (05:36)

So spending time in nature was a really obvious choice when I came to that, that led me to co-create a Parks prescription program with local city parks and recreation departments. Our pediatricians were able to advise their patients to get more time in nature and more activity. Sort of like what you're talking about, prescribing two hours. Mm-Hmm. . Um, and then the beauty of this particular program was that we connected those families directly with their local parks and recreation departments. So instead of just, just a prescription, you go figure out how you're gonna fill it. We actually came up with a way of filling it as well

Hillary Wilkinson: (06:15)

I'm having a full circle moment here because I can tell you several years back, my family and I were en route to Yosemite and we stopped via Hanford to get ice cream at Superior Dairy , which is always recommended because oh my gosh, I don't know their cookies and cream is something that will haunt you the rest of the year.

Jean Rystrom: (06:43)

Okay. 

Hillary Wilkinson: (06:45)

No, but I can remember, so Hanford is this adorable little town kind of in the Inland Empire in California that has really retained a lot of its kind of vintage magic and feel and we were, but it gets hot. So, so very hot. And we were waiting on our ice cream and we went across and there was a person there who was writing, uh, an article for like the Hanford Gazette or whatever their local newspaper is about a Parks prescription program. And I didn't, I'm like, I don't know if you had your hands down in California on that or not, but I clearly remember this and she came and she interviewed my kids because she saw them playing around the fountain and things like that. So I full circle moment here. Jean . 

Jean Rystrom: (08:05)

Yeah, absolutely. So, um, just to finish my answer to your question, I joined the nature and play work group 'cause I thought we might wanna further highlight and promote Nature-based alternatives, um, to screen time.

Hillary Wilkinson: (08:19)

Yeah. Yeah. And it, so all of your, all of your professional and recreation life kind of merged, right? Sounds like. Yeah. Perfect. Well, when we come back, we're going to be talking about the newest resource from the Nature and Play work group that's going to inspire us all to get outside, not unlike the Parks Prescription program, by keeping tech in its lane and getting us all outdoors. 

Hillary Wilkinson: (09:39)

I'm speaking with Jean Rystrom, who retired after 30 years of working for the Medical Group of Kaiser Permanente as an administrator of pediatric services and a national leader on screen time reduction. So Jean, let's jump into it. Let's talk about this amazing resource I've been teasing:  the Children and Family Nature inspiration guide! Can you tell us what it is?

Jean Rystrom: (10:20)

For sure. So as you said, we just launched it and the purpose is to help parents who wanna give their children the myriad gifts that nature provides, but maybe they're not sure about how or where to start to reawaken their children's innate capacity for imaginative, unstructured outdoor play. So the Inspiration Guide is a beautiful poster like list of 12 different webpages from different organizations. It has lovely illustrations of kids having fun outdoors in both urban and park-like settings. It's designed for the busy parent who already knows that more time in nature and less time with screens would be beneficial for their family, but maybe who needs some quick ideas and maybe encouragement in order to take action. They're quick descriptions of each resource with a link to the webpage and often the webpages that we have linked to offer a wealth of wonderful content. You could spend hours on those websites, but we hope, and we hope users will explore.

Jean Rystrom: (11:23)

But the sheer volume can be overwhelming to the parent who just needs a quick idea. And so that's why we came up with something that you can use right now. You can zero in on something that you wanna use. Maybe an example for getting started, such as things you can do with Sticks or maybe an FAQ about common challenges such as: Every time I try to get my kids to go for a hike, they groan or maybe I live in the city, what am I gonna do? So if you access the guide through the Action Network website or the QR code, there are live links to each resource. So you can very quickly click right into each one.

Hillary Wilkinson: (12:20)

One thing - I happen to know a little bit about the guide 'cause we've worked on it together, , but, um, one thing that I just wanted to point out is, you know, I'm, we're dropping this episode right before the summer months because it's, um, you know, it's timely to do so. Uh, but summer's often the season that most people think about getting outside. And I think it's also important for people to know that this guide was really designed for year round use. It's not weather specific, it's not seasonally specific, so it can be used, it's something maybe you could print out the guide and just, you know, put it in your stash of things to be used at a later time.

Jean Rystrom: (13:13)

Absolutely. This is an all weather idea. It's a year round concept that we want Yeah. Kids to be outside and, um, usually, you know, the appropriate clothing and gear makes it fun, easy and safe to be outdoors.

Hillary Wilkinson: (13:29)

Yeah. What's that saying? It's the, I don't know if I believe this 'cause I'm

Jean Rystrom: (13:33)

Truly No bad weather

Hillary Wilkinson: (13:34)

A truly wimpy Californian Yeah. , but the no bad weather, only bad clothing or, or Yeah,

Jean Rystrom: (13:41)

I think there are a few exceptions to that. , maybe tornado weather. .

Hillary Wilkinson: (13:46)

am, uh, like I said, died in the wool just truly wimpy Southern Californian. I have about a 20 degree variant in which I'm comfortable and otherwise I'm way too cold or way too hot.

Jean Rystrom: (14:04)

. Oh, well, my co-chair Heather, um, lives in Wisconsin and so she has more of that seasonal challenge, um, than you do. And I'm in Portland, Oregon, and, uh, we don't really have much of a seasonal challenge, if you don't mind getting wet. Uhhuh, uh, . But there are plans and ideas that will get you outside in pretty much any weather.

Hillary Wilkinson: (14:27)

Yeah, yeah. No, and, and I know that we specifically looked for those things. So Jean, are there targeted age ranges for the, for the guide or is it like, what, what if people are listening and they're thinking, “oh, that sounds nice for little guys”, but what are, what are the full age ranges offered?

Jean Rystrom: (14:47)

Right. I think it would, it really covers all ages, um, including even me. Um, so, uh, we were out on a hike not too long ago, and I was looking in this beautiful stream where there was a bunch of really gorgeous pebbles and I was thinking, oh, I might like to arrange those pebbles around a rock. Um, you know, so it just because, it sounds like a toddler idea. It may not even be a toddler idea, but also many of our items are, uh, explicitly for older kids. Um, and so we really have things for kids and adults of all ages. Um, so for example, the In Let Grow, um, there's independent independence inventory for tweens and teens, um, on the,Nature Play QLD website, there's something called 30 Challenges Before Prep. Well, um, this is in Australia and um, their ideas of course are perfectly applicable everywhere, but Prep, I think they mean more like, you know, upper high school or college. Yeah. So they're definitely talking about teens or the Children in Nature Networks: Together in Nature Guide lists ideas for teens on page 11. So there are ideas for older kids, and as I said, many of them would apply to any adult who's feeling just a little bit playful.

Hillary Wilkinson: (16:13)

Yeah. Well, and I think that's the beauty of being outside in nature as well, is that kind of taps that curiosity that maybe gets squelched in a lot of adult settings inside and meetings, whatever. But when you get outside, you know, you can follow an ant trail or you can do, you know, things and you find yourself doing things that are somehow familiar because there may be they're things that you did when you were much younger , and, and it's fun to share those with your kids as well. And I think, um, you mentioned Let Grow and I just, you know, uh, Jonathan Haidt's book is kind of all, all over the digital wellness field currently and beyond. And, um, he's a member of the Let Grow Board. And I just, um, wanna reiterate the importance of the unstructured time outside that you said that he, uh, I mean that that is something that let both let Grow and Jonathan Haidt bring up again and again is the importance of allowing the time for creativity and problem solving and, and risk taking within measure appropriate risk taking for our, our younger set

Jean Rystrom: (17:42)

. Absolutely. And I think a lot depends on where your starting point is. So if your starting point is that the kids haven't been playing outside for a long time, um, and you're just trying to get into it a little bit more, then you might provide a little more structure on the front end and then the kids gradually work into taking it from there on their own. Um, but if your kids are already spending a fair amount of time outdoors, they may not need anything. Um, you know, it could be literally go outside, see what's there, um, or it could be go outside, here's some ideas, or it could be I'll, let's all go outside and I'll help you with some ideas. You know, there's a full range of possibilities depending on the situation.

Hillary Wilkinson: (18:26)

So a lot of times going back to our online life, we get pitched, you know, I'm using air quotes, , good ideas, or you know, resources that for, from things that are all online, but we don't really know where these ideas or the advice originates from. Can you speak to how the sources in the inspiration guide kind of got vetted?

Jean Rystrom: (19:13)

Oh, absolutely. Um, so we had several criteria that we used. Um, so I'm gonna list some of those. They had to be free. Um, you did, you don't have to pay for them. They have to be easy to access and they have to be actionable for families. So you don't have to be a teacher and you don't have to do a ton of prep. Um, have to have offer activities for a range of ages. They have to be fun. And of course they have to be from those trusted and well-respected experts in organizations. So I have some, some examples about how it might work for you. So maybe you're des you've got some energetic kids in the house and you're desperate to get them outside right now, and you need to tell them you have some kind of a plan for something fun to do.

Jean Rystrom: (20:03)

So you take a quick look at the creative play in nature, the first thing on our list, um, and it gives you a number of ways to play with leaves. You select a couple and you head out the door with a plan Mm-Hmm. . So there's a nice easy, um, I just needed an idea, or maybe you've got some time to plan and maybe you're taking care of a group of children next week for a whole day and it includes other people's kids and you've gotta plan something. And maybe there's one of the parents that you've gotta kind of convince that this is gonna be an okay plan. Um, so you look through the Family Starter guide, which is, um, resource three dash one, uh, where you find information about the benefits of outdoor play that you can share with that parent. And it also provides you with a reminder about things you might wanna bring.

Jean Rystrom: (20:55)

You know, snacks, water, sunscreen, extra clothes, provides some simple play ideas and also an FAQ, um, or maybe you're a little concerned about the risks that are associated with playing outdoors. And you wanna encourage play without dampening your kids' enthusiasm. So you can look at Backwoods Mama's great phrases like instead of,” oh, you know, don't do that!” or whatever, you can say, “notice how, notice how those rocks are slippery” instead of, “ don't go there, you might slip”, but rather, “notice how those rocks are slippery.” So that noticing, you were talking about that a little bit before, and I was, um, thinking about my son's first and second grade teacher who was so incredibly wonderful and she was teaching the kids notice and wonder. So I'll, I'll actually, I'm gonna try to talk about that again later. But, um, so things like, notice how, or you know, if you're worried that they might be venturing someplace that's a little dicey. Like, do you feel, do you feel stable on that rock? Do you feel, you know, that you're Oh,

Hillary Wilkinson: (22:01)

So important, the language around it rather, instead of “Be careful!” or Right. Yeah, yeah. Or “Don't slip!” or Yeah. All of those things. Yeah. All these things. I love that. I love, love that. And it's, it's encouraging but supportive language.

Jean Rystrom: (22:17)

Exactly. Right. Yeah. And, and it, it teaches them that they are the source of their own sense about what's safe Mm-Hmm. . And that they can, they can, they can moderate that themselves and, um, evaluate it themselves, which of course sets them up for a lifetime.

Hillary Wilkinson: (22:38)

Sure. Absolutely. And to really trust that kind of inner feeling for them. Yeah, exactly. Like, notice how you're feeling, do you feel safe? You know? Right. And if they're thinking, no, I don't, then you think, well, what could you do to help yourself? You know? 

Jean Rystrom: (22:52)

Exactly right. A great follow up. Yeah. Yeah. So, and you know, another scenario might be that you live in a huge city and you say, well, there's no nature here. Well, of course there is. Um, maybe it's not even safe to go outside, but there's still ideas in the guide such as maybe if you have a balcony, you could build a balcony fort with various materials. Mm-Hmm. . Or you could make a list of the sounds that you can hear from just outside your door, or there's always indoor gardening. There's a whole list of ideas, um, in many of the resources that you can use if you're in a city. And, um, if maybe you already get your kids outside a lot and you're just like, well, I wanna do a little bit more and maybe motivation's flagging a little bit. So you talk as a family and maybe you decide to commit to the Thousand Hours Outside concept. 'cause that's one of the websites too. That's a lot of time. A thousand hours. Um, you know, it's a little daunting three hours a day. Um, but together you decide you can, you can do it. So you go to the website for ideas and they have a bunch of trackers that you can fill in a little section of every time you spend an hour outside, so you can see how you're doing over the year.

Hillary Wilkinson: (24:06)

Yeah. And the trackers are beautiful, like beautiful medallion looking things. Yeah. Or like, they, they have a whole, just a whole bunch of different ones that you can use. So like I, I find that motivating to color a triangle and then like to see it build on itself.

Jean Rystrom: (24:25)

Absolutely. Or, you know, you can take inspiration from the ones that they have and make your own.

Hillary Wilkinson: (24:31)

Yeah. If you're, if you're so inclined

Jean Rystrom: (24:34)

Yeah. , I mean, it could be, it could be a simple grid, but that will give you some way more creative ideas than that. Yeah,

Hillary Wilkinson: (24:41)

Exactly. You know, I really appreciate the, um, the time that you just spent kind of talking about setting. You kind of gave us ideas for like right away quick ideas. Like if you need something right away with, you know, the going out and collecting leaves and maybe what could you build with these, you know, or create a picture with leaves. And then the other thing that I wanted to follow up with was the sort of like setting expectations for other families if you're planning on having, say, an outdoor day. And I think that that is so critical because it also lets the other family know that your child is going to be offline . So please

Hillary Wilkinson: (25:29)

Do, please do not think that we, you know, if you need to get ahold of them, you should go through me. Do not send them with their own phone kind of thing. But you're kind of clearly setting these expectations. And I, um, I have found even today, I mean, I have, my kids are on, I'm on the long end of parenting. I've got older teens and young adults. Um, but even today when I have said things like, oh, say a friend is coming to stay the night, and I say, “We collect all cell phones at night, so if you, you know, so and so is always welcome. We have a landline that they're more than welcome to use and they will always be able to get a hold of you. And you, you know, here's the number to the landline, but we collect cell phones at night.” It's so interesting because very often the feedback I get from the other parents is, “Oh, we started doing that practice too”, or we started, you know, so I think by encouraging other families, just by saying, oh, we're gonna be spending this time, you know, up to our knees and mud and elbows in water, like, you know, and like completely offline, hopefully that is going to provide more of that activity.

Jean Rystrom: (26:52)

Yeah. And I think, um, one aspect that you alluded to is you're actually building your own community, because if the other kids in the other families aren't doing what you're doing, then you have a much harder hill to climb. But if the other families around your children are doing the same thing that you do, which is a thing you can encourage, then you'll have a much easier ride. Because that's just the way it is. That's what everybody's family does.

Hillary Wilkinson: (27:17)

Yeah. Yeah. So I am sure that now, by now, after hearing just like a smattering of these resources that, that, or of these tips that, that you've been giving, that people are chomping at the bit wanting to know how to access this amazing resource. So to let, to let you all listening know how to do that, I will link all of these in the show notes and I'll give directions on how to access those show notes at the end of this episode. 

Jean, you came from a background of working within the realm of healthcare and specifically pediatrics. So I feel like you have had the benefit of a long view on children's health and how it's been modified with and through the use of digital technologies. And is there anything that you wish parents who are raising today's children? Is there anything you wish that every parent knew about tech and nature and play all of those?

Jean Rystrom: (28:29)

Well, the first thing I wanna say is that when I started on this, really the only thing we had to worry about was TV. And we felt like that was, um, you know, a real challenge. , of course, it's gotten ever so much worse in the time since then. And, and much, much harder for parents. So I really wanna empathize with what parents are up against and the Big Tech with all of the resources that they bring to bear to get kids and keep kids addicted to their devices. So, um, I always encourage parents to, to recognize that this is not easy. Mm-Hmm. . Um, but there's, I also want them to understand that there is an awful lot at stake. So when we think about, again, all of the risks that are associated with screen time, and I'll, again, I'll just quickly run through that list that's in my brain of depression, sleep, weight, ADHD symptoms, um, lower academic success, lower development of social skills, reduced impulse control and creativity, all that kind of stuff. That's the bad news. Reducing screen time and increasing time in nature has the potential to address all of those. And where else can you get so much potential benefit from making one change?

Hillary Wilkinson: (29:47)

Oh my gosh, you're totally right. And for free mostly! 

Jean Rystrom: (29:50)

Yeah  and it's free, right? Yeah. It'll probably cost you a lot less than you would've been paying if you had, you know, and if your kids were subject to the advertisements and wanting, you know, better and better devices, which they're going to do anyway. But I think that the more time they spend outdoors, the more they'll appreciate that and the less the pressure will be for buying stuff.

Hillary Wilkinson: (30:12)

For sure. 

Jean Rystrom: (30:13)

So playing outside is so much more than physical activity. Um, which itself has many benefits including fitness, vitamin D and sleep. But being in nature also enhances focus and attention. Um, it improves problem solving, reduces stress, increases empathy, improves mood. 

The influence of nature is dramatic and pervasive for all of us. And the thing that always just encapsulated that for me was when there was a study that said that hospital patients, these are, you know, generally gonna be older, but they're in the hospital for whatever reason, that's not happy. Um, who have views of greenery outside their windows have shorter stays and fewer complications.

Hillary Wilkinson: (31:00)

Oh, that's interesting.

Jean Rystrom: (31:01)

So if it's that powerful, just imagine what it is for kids. So there's so many risk associated with screen time but reducing screen time, increasing time in nature has the potential to change that. And that's what I think parents need to know.

Hillary Wilkinson: (31:25)

Yeah. Yeah. I agree. Okay. We have to take a short break, but when we come back, I am going to ask Jean Strom for her healthy screen habit. 

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My guest today is Jean Rystrom from the Nature and Play work group in the Screen Time Action Network at Fair Play. The Nature and Play Work Group focuses on helping families cultivate the magic that happens when they slow down, leave their screens behind, and allow the natural world to feed their children's minds and spirits Gene. On every episode of the Healthy Screen Habits podcast, I ask for a healthy screen habit. And this is a tip or takeaway that our listeners can put into place nearly immediately. What's yours?

Jean Rystrom: (32:44)

Well, the short version is reduce stress by getting outside and appreciating nature every day. Even if it's just for a moment, even if it's just one tree or one bird, but better yet and a little longer, take a good walk, notice the seasonal changes and add a question. I was talking about notice and wonder, like, I wonder which bird is that singing that song? What direction is that cloud traveling in? How long will it be before the flower bud on the bush next door opens up?

Hillary Wilkinson: (33:21)

Yeah, it's, I mean, it's, it's very mindful, mindful moving throughout our world. As always, you can find a complete transcript of this show and a link to all of the resources discussed by visiting the show notes for this episode. You do this by going to healthyscreenhabits.org. Click the podcast button and find this episode. Jean, thank you for all that you do for keeping kids a priority and helping families get outside.

Jean Rystrom: (33:58)

Thank you so much, Hillary.