Experience and Perception of Nature in Childhood

Abstract

Modern society has shown a movement of deviation from nature, leading to a connection loss between man and nature. Since their early childhood, children interact with the world in response to external encouragement, revealing through their corporeality, the uniqueness with which they interpret the world around them. Nature provides a favorable environment for children to develop various skills, expanding their memories and sensations. The purpose of this research was to understand the child's relationship with nature through their perceptions and experiences at a decisive stage in their corporal and personal development, and the construction of values. Based on the phenomenology of experience and imagination, this qualitative research presents experiments on the interaction of children in the nature. As an outcome, it was observed that children need to maintain contact with nature outside them, creating amends with their natural selves and seeing themselves as part of nature. It is concluded that the valorization of the child’s experiences in relation to the world itself and with nature is a possible path for their human and altruistic development.