Nursery World - All about ... Dens

A guide to planning opportunities to engage young children in den-building, by early years consultant Helen Bilton.

When you ask adults about their outdoor experiences as a child, they will, almost without fail, mention den-building. It is a pastime that generation after generation has enjoyed.

Many adults describe making a den in the undergrowth, so the den is a creation of their imaginations. Some talk about constructing a hideaway, others refer to their den as a hole, and only recently a woman attending an inset session explained how she and her friends used to let down her mother's washing line, throw a blanket over it and anchor the blanket with tins of baked beans to create a tent.

So why the preoccupation with dens? If we look at the animal kingdom, we find the den functions as a retreat or a habitat, somewhere to run to for protection, as in a lair or burrow. So, in essence, a den is a safe place, a home, a place of sanctuary.

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