About this item
In this important book, a pediatric occupational therapist and founder of TimberNook shows how outdoor play and unstructured freedom of movement are vital for children's cognitive development and growth, and offers tons of fun, engaging ways to help ensure that kids grow into healthy, balanced, and resilient adults. Today's kids have adopted sedentary lifestyles filled with television, video games, and computer screens. But more and more, studies show that children need "rough and tumble" outdoor play in order to develop their sensory, motor, and executive functions. Disturbingly, a lack of movement has been shown to lead to a number of health and cognitive difficulties, such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) , emotion regulation and sensory processing issues, and aggressiveness at school recess break.
About the Author
Hi, I'm Angela Hanscom, author of the forthcoming book, "Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children" (New Harbinger, April 2016) .
I'm a pediatric occupational therapist that has taken a unique path in life. Typically occupational therapists are found in buildings (i.e., schools, hospitals, or clinics) and treat children with attention, balance, sensory, and motor issues. I still help these children, only I use giant mud puddles, rope swings that reach new heights, fallen trees, and the woods as my medium of choice for treatment and prevention for that matter.
Before I became a writer, I started a developmental nature program in my backyard as an experiment. What started as just an idea, quickly grew into what is now an internationally recognized brand, TimberNook, in just a few short years. Now we can be found throughout the United States and New Zealand. It is through hours of observing children at these camps where the idea for Balanced & Barefoot was born.
I live in New Hampshire in an antique cape nestled in the woods with my adored husband and three children. My favorite activities are downhill skiing, reading by the fire, boating, traveling, and taking walks through the woods with my family. My faith and my family are at the core of everything I do. Without them, there would be no book or TimberNook. My hope is that this book will provide valuable insight into the sensory and motor needs of children for years to come.
