1. Nicole Jess Jessica Kadrie Alice Guns MOTHER’S AND FATHER’S ENCOURAGEMENT OF AND INVOLVEMENT IN PRESCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN’S NATURE EXPERIENCES

2.  As shown through Louv’s research children are decreasingly playing outdoors. Additionally, when parents have been asked to state reasons for this decrease, they stated there is a competition from television and computer, homework and other time pressure, as well as safety issue that are keeping kids indoors.  Increased fear for child safety has been shown in a variety of studies such as studies on infant locomotion and child risk taking. In this study, both fathers and mothers expected their children to attempt climbing impossibly steep slopes, but mothers were more likely to adopt safety oriented practices (Ishak, Tamis-LeMonda, & Adolph, 2007). Additionally research shows that fathers worry less about preschool aged boys’ safety than preschool aged girls’ safety in risk taking; whereas mother showed worried similarly for both preschool aged girls and boys (Hagan & Kuebli, 2007).  Purpose of Research: Examine the difference between mothers and fathers in how they encourage or discourage outdoor play INTRODUCTION

3.  We believe that mothers will have more concerns regarding children’s safety than fathers.  Our second hypothesis is that we believe mothers and fathers will both rate nature as important for a child’s healthy development, but fathers will be more likely to actively participate in a child’s experiences in nature  We predict that couples will view their significant other differently than the significant other rated themselves in regards to their own participation in nature.  Lastly, we believe that parents of preschool-aged boys will rate nature activities as more important and worry less about safety concerns than parents of preschool- aged girls. HYPOTHESES

4.  We will be recruiting mothers and fathers from traditional (nonblended, nondivorced) families with at least one child between the ages of 2-4 living in the same household. Couples will volunteer to participate in the study. They will be informed that two surveys will be sent home for each parent to complete individually. We will inform participants of the deadline for completing the survey, which will be approximately one week from the time they take the survey home.  Participants will be recruited through handing out/posting flyers. The flyer will give a brief explanation of the purpose of the study and what types of participants are needed. We plan to post flyers at local daycares, churches, and community organizations (such as YMCA, Multicultural family center, library, nature centers).  Convenience sampling. Volunteers will be allowed to participate in the study if they meet the participant criteria. RECRUITMENT

5.  We will ask mothers and fathers to complete the modified Encouraging Children’s Nature Experience Scale [EC-NES] individually on their own time at home. We will ask for their cooperation in completing the survey within one week.  Survey takes 15-20 minutes to complete  Asks participants about their own experiences with nature and their opinions about the importance of nature for children. We are using the entire survey, but we also added questions.  Additional questions have been added to gain information about activities families participate in, views of significant other, and knowledge of opportunities in Dubuque. METHODS

6. f% Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Just outside the door 1565.2 15 minute walk14.3 69.6 15 minutes by car 730.4 100.0 Total23100.0 HOW FAR FROM YOUR HOME IS THE CLOSEST NATURE PLACE THAT YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN’S PLAY?

7. Categories NMeanStd. DeviationStd. Error Mean Mental BenefitMale946.37.62.53311 Female1449.25.11.37153 Costs of outdoors Male98.74.81.60728 Female148.82.8.73514 SafetyMale924.39.03.00463 Female1422.18.92.37539 No Need for Nature Male96.13.41.13584 Female145.96.41.70602 Physical BenefitMale962.79.63.19722 Female1466.53.0.79663 Connectedness to others and self Male952.69.83.25368 Female1453.47.51.99892 Motor SkillsMale935.45.01.65924 Female1437.14.81.29013 Responsible Contributor Male939.62.6.85165 Female1440.32.3.62396 StorytellingMale933.77.32.44381 Female1435.75.21.37652 Awareness of Nature Male941.86.22.06679 Female1444.35.21.38845 Parent’s Outdoor Activity Male950.65.11.68417 Female1450.45.51.46237 Significant Other’s Activity Male9325.21.72401 Female14355.71.51186

8. ANOVA Levene's Test for Equality of Variancest-test for Equality of Means FSig.tdfSig. (2-tailed) Mental BenefitEqual variances assumed1.514.232-1.09021.288 Equal variances not assumed 12.706.336 Costs of OutdoorsEqual variances assumed.463.504-.07621.940 Equal variances not assumed -.06711.390.947 SafetyEqual variances assumed.068.797.59221.560 Equal variances not assumed.59117.031.563 No Need for NatureEqual variances assumed.034.856.10921.914 Equal variances not assumed.12420.526.903 Physical BenefitEqual variances assumed11.751.003-1.40921.173 Equal variances not assumed -1.1639.003.275 Connected- ness with others and self Equal variances assumed.638.433-.22321.826 Equal variances not assumed -.21013.955.837 Motor SkillsEqual variances assumed.010.919-.78021.444 Equal variances not assumed -.77416.815.450 Responsible ContributorEqual variances assumed.353.559-.70621.488 Equal variances not assumed -.69216.048.499 StorytellingEqual variances assumed1.776.197-.78921.439 Equal variances not assumed -.73013.072.478 Awareness of NatureEqual variances assumed.344.564-1.04821.306 Equal variances not assumed -1.00714.973.330 Parent’s Outdoor ActivityEqual variances assumed.012.915.08721.931 Equal variances not assumed.08918.233.930 Significant Other’s ActivityEqual variances assumed.041.842-1.28221.214 Equal variances not assumed -1.30818.355.207

9.  Difficulty collecting adequate participants  Many participants recruited through Loras with education levels of Masters or higher  Not an adequate reflection of population  No significant findings  Low amount of participants  Lengthy survey DISCUSSION

10.  Beets, M. W., Vogel, R., Chapman, S., Pitetti, K. H., & Cardinal, B. J. (2007). Parent’s Social Support for Children’s Outdoor Physical Activity: Do Weekdays and Weekends Matter?. Sex Roles, 56(1/2), 125-131. doi:10.1007/s11199-006-9154-4  Hagan, L., & Kuebli, J. (2007). Mothers' and fathers' socialization of preschoolers' physical risk taking. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 28(1), 2-14. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2006.10.007  Ishak, S., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., & Adolph, K. E. (2007). Ensuring Safety and Providing Challenge: Mothers' and Fathers' Expectations and Choices About Infant Locomotion. Parenting: Science & Practice, 7(1), 57-68. doi:10.1207/s15327922par0701_3  Louv, R. (2005). Last child in the woods: saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. REFERENCES