Nursery World - Editor's view (255)

Early years practitioners can sometimes feel daunted at the prospect of providing the right experiences outdoors for birth to threes - safety is one factor, and matching the activities to age and stage is another.

However, both the current and forthcoming (EYFS) frameworks make itclear that the youngest children should be provided with high-qualityoutdoor play. Gail Ryder Richardson's feature this week ('Actionpoints', pp12-14) offers invaluable expert advice on the outdoorenvironment for babies and toddlers, and lots of wonderful suggestionson what you and the children can do outside, all linked to children'sdevelopmental stages. The accompanying photographs show the children atNannas day nursery using all their senses to enjoy being outside.

So this week's item in Media Watch on the launch of Fisher-Price's99.99 Smart Cycle comes in sad contrast (see page 5). Thisexercise bike for three- to six-year-olds links up to the TV screen, sothe poor children can see images of a moving road as they pedal or learnabout letters and numbers. Apparently, concerns about the weather andsafety have prompted its invention! What an impoverished experience thisis - no fresh air, no big wide world, no learning to balance or to judgespeed. It may be virtual reality - it's also virtual madness!

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