It’s 9 a.m. on a Tuesday at Cooper’s Landing, a boat dock on the bank of the Missouri River. Children ages 0-5 hold the hands of their parents as they wait in line for registration, ready to experience a Morning at the River. Kristen Schulter is the Missouri River Relief education director, and she started the program at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to help get families immersed in nature.
“We saw ourselves put into the opportunity to provide programming because most of our programming happens outdoors,” Schulter said.
Schulter said she’s noticed more confidence from children who’ve done the program before.
“We have kids, after they attend our program, they’ll ask their parents, ‘Take me to the river. I want to go to the river,'" Schulter said. "They’re identifying as river kids.”
Music plays through the outdoor space. Ms. Tess, a Columbia-based kids musician, teaches kids about turtle highway safety. There’s also a rock painting station, a turtle plushie vet clinic, and a scavenger hunt for shapes. These are just one of the many activities kids can participate in at Mornings at the River.
Grady Kniptash is six years old, attending the program as a guest with his little sister. He said his favorite part of the program was playing in the water and getting to pet the turtles.
For Kaylyn Kniptash, she sees Mornings at the River as a chance to get her kids off their screens and outside.
“My son was actually at home and was like I don’t wanna go, and I was like, 'Well, the TV's going off regardless, so you decide. Do you wanna sit at home, or do you wanna go to the river?' And he chose to come to the river today,” Kniptash said.
Kniptash’s son is one of many who have grown up with screens. A study from Common Sense Media found that average media use is up among young kids. This is led by a rise in gaming, with video game use jumping 65% in the past four years. The negative repercussions of too much screen use can contribute to several social habits, including social withdrawal and depression among kids.
But Dr. Alexia Barrable has been researching a more positive link — one between children’s emotional well-being and the time they spend in nature. Barrble is a Senior Lecturer in psychology, sociology, and education at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
“We know that children who spend more time in nature during childhood have better cognitive outcomes, including things like attentional control, working memory, and less hyperactivity. We also know that children who feel closer to nature, children who feel connected to nature, tend to have better well-being,” Barrable said.
Children are already used to exploring new environments every day, which Dr. Barrable says sets them up well for this sort of curiosity and exploration.
“Depending on their developmental stage, younger children will interact with nature in different ways. They interact with it in a much more sense-heavy way, so you'll see children picking things up and touching them and biting them and smelling them in a way that an adult wouldn’t,” said Dr. Barrable.
The program was completely booked this year, which has happened before. But, Schulter said spots went much quicker this time than in years past, likely due to word of mouth. These Mornings at the River ended on June 18, and next summer, some of the kids here will have aged out. But if more families aim to curb screen time for outdoor alternatives, nature areas in Missouri will likely remain pretty lively during the summer.
