On holiday, Jeddah Teasdale's children thrive in the great outdoors; at home, they show less enthusiasm for - even fear of - spending time in the natural world.

Last year, during a holiday in Canada, we spent three weeks in a cabin only slightly bigger than a queen-size bed. Three weeks in this tiny space; me, my husband and my two girls, two and four. No toys, no TV, none of the luxuries of life. It was very cold when we cooked and ate our meals outdoors, morning and night, but we had the best time imaginable. The consolation prize for this simple life was the beautiful lake just 10 steps from our front door. We constructed a rope swing in a large bush, and we watched the resident duck family come and go. That's it. We were supremely happy for the entire three weeks and yearned to stay longer. Suprisingly, the children behaved better than they had in a long time. Bedtime ran smoothly at 7pm, despite the sun going down about three hours later. The kids were honestly tuckered out from a full day of play in nature.

During my studies in environmental management, I have come across research about children's need for this intense connection with nature, which at the time seemed more theoretical than actual. This research pointed to kids with attention-deficit problems who benefited significantly from contact with green spaces. A study by scientists from the Human-Environment Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois concluded that time spent in nature, or green spaces in general, can enhance a child's attention span and that 'nature therapy' might be an important tool in the management of attention-deficit problems.

Not only is nature important to kids with ADHD, but other studies show how important contact with nature is for the mental health of adults and children alike. Nature reduces stress and encourages creativity. Children don't really need manufactured toys to have fun, just access to nature. There they can play with sticks and trees and so on to develop healthy imaginations that will stand them in good stead for their entire lives.

For three brief weeks my children played with nothing but what nature provided for them. They really connected with their natural surrounds. Each day they rushed out in their warmest clothes to embrace the day with enthusiasm. When the weather warmed, they stripped off to enjoy the cool lake.

That was last year. This year we are back in our small house in the city. In this environment the girls don't like to feel the wet grass beneath their feet, and prefer to play inside with their toys or on the deck. Some weekends we are lucky enough to visit our local reserves, where we take walks. The kids often feel anxious about ants and other things that might bite them or otherwise harm them, such as wild dogs (I guess this idea came straight from stories or TV).

How did this happen? I am so aware of the need for kids to be in the natural world that it surprises me how fearful my own children are of things that are wild. And if it is happening to my family, it may be happening to others. Are we raising a generation of children who are scared of the natural environment?

I want my children to develop a relationship with the natural world, so they can begin to respect all the good things it provides us with: clean air, diversity, and peace and quiet. Yet it is difficult for me, in the city, with all my theoretical knowledge, to encourage my children to play as they did when we were in our little cabin by the lake. Here, toys beckon them inside where the breeze squeezes in through the half-open window. Here, inside, environmental education comes in the form of cartoons featuring endangered animals being rescued by Diego, and more bad news in the media about how compromised the environment is.

As a parent, I feel an obligation to switch off these negative versions of our natural world and instead persevere in bringing my children and nature together as best as I can in this modern world, be it in the backyard, the reserves or by organising more camping trips. Surely when my kids were running from the cabin to the lake in Canada, they didn't even think of how the wet grass felt. Hopefully, there will again come a time when they associate wet grass with beautiful dawn mornings, full of the freshness of a new day.