Nature Experiences: So Important for Children! But Barely Realizable in Daycare Centers
March 25, 2025
DÜSSELDORF. Getting into mud pants and out into nature. What many daycare managers want, according to a survey, often fails due to staff shortages. "It's absurd when committed professionals would like to go out into nature with the children, but staff shortages and a lack of low-threshold access prevent them," said VBE Vice President Tomi Neckov.
Mud? Yes, please. Photo: Shutterstock
With rubber boots out into the forest or in mud pants to the stream: Most daycare managers see nature experiences for daycare children as positive and desirable, according to a survey, but they are too often not realizable in everyday life. This is the result of a survey of 2,659 daycare managers in Germany, which the Association for Education and Training (VBE) presented at the beginning of the German Daycare Management Congress (DKLK) in Düsseldorf.
According to the study, 71 percent of daycare managers said they needed more staff to regularly allow children to experience nature. A good third pointed out that they could hardly get into the countryside because of the local location of their daycare center. Around 75 percent stated that they do not visit a natural space with the children every day – such as a forest, park, natural outdoor area of the facility, fields, meadows or stream banks.
"Nature experiences are not a luxury, but essential for the healthy development of children," said VBE Vice President Tomi Neckov. An overwhelming majority of daycare managers see positive effects for motor skills, health, well-being and environmental awareness of the youngest in nature education. Better self-perception and creativity as well as a plus for language development are also mentioned by many respondents. According to the assessment of numerous respondents, the staff could also benefit – for example through lower noise levels and because of "positive effects on the children's behavior."
Difficult Staff Situation and Too Large Groups are Criticized
As the "DKLK Opinion Trend" further revealed, two out of five daycare managers would not recommend their profession. The shortage of skilled workers is still problematic. In addition, the groups would have to be smaller, the administrative burden lower and the social and political appreciation greater, said many managers.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Family Minister Josefine Paul (Greens) showed understanding for the criticism. "Employees rightly expect us as politicians to act here," said the Green politician to the "Rheinische Post". The daycare system has grown strongly in the past ten years – also with additional care places and more staff, but it is not enough.
Across all levels, the federal government, states and municipalities must work to solve the challenges of the shortage of skilled workers. The state is actively recruiting foreign workers and ensuring that they can take up a job in the daycare center with as few bureaucratic hurdles as possible. There are qualification programs for career changers and opportunities for more flexible personnel deployment in the facilities.
After all, the daycare staff in North Rhine-Westphalia grew by another 4,000 employees in 2024 compared to the previous year. According to the minister, around 144,610 people were employed in daycare centers in the country last year – including around 92,853 educators and 14,236 child care workers.
Outdoor Exercise is Important for Healthy Development
VBE State Chairwoman Anne Deimel said that in a society shaped by digitalization, in which even small children spend a lot of time with cell phones and tablets, outdoor exercise is all the more important for healthy development. Nevertheless, the framework conditions in the daycare centers are not sufficient to allow the boys and girls enough time in nature, Deimel criticized according to the message.
According to the survey, positive effects for children result from the majority view of the daycare managers surveyed for motor skills, health, well-being and the environmental awareness of the youngest. According to the assessment of many respondents, the staff could also benefit – for example through lower noise levels. Nature education was the focus of this year's survey.
The fact that more than 80 percent of the managers need more staff to enable children to have regular nature experiences shows how far the wish and reality in early childhood education diverge, emphasized the FDP parliamentary group. The evaluation reveals a structural daycare crisis, said the family policy spokesman, Marcel Hafke. Staff shortages, overburdened managers, groups that are too large and an inadequate skilled worker-child ratio lead to a "vicious circle in the system."
In the "DKLK Opinion Trend", responses from managers mainly from NRW, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria were included between October 2024 and January 2025. According to the VBE, the survey is not representative. News4teachers / with material from dpa
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