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In this episode, Greg Dickens and I discuss recent news on how outdoor play in preschoolers predicts their risk of mental health problems in later childhood. We talk about biological aging in different generations, and how that influences people’s risk of disease. We then talk about toddlers falling over – why it’s so vital for body and brain health and why toddlers don’t fall down as much as they should. We talk about how we can set toddlers up to fall more in early life so they fall less in adulthood. Finally we talk about tree climbing – why it’s important, and what simple rules support safe climbing.

For more information on how toddlers learn from falling, see this article: https://guenbradbury.substack.com/p/dont-stop-your-child-falling-over

For more information on helping children develop upper body strength, see this article: https://guenbradbury.substack.com/p/why-hanging-by-the-arms-helps-children

My veterinary degree taught me about mammalian body systems.

My career in health research taught me about Western health and Western bodies.

Spending 18 months living with my three children in remote African and South American communities taught me about human health and human bodies in other cultural environments.

I share what I’ve learned about child physical health and development in weekly articles and podcast episodes.

Everything is free, but if you find my work useful and would like to show your support, you can now upgrade – completely optional, always appreciated.

Topics covered

* How outdoor play in early life affects children’s risk of mental health problems

* Why different generations age at different speeds, and what affects this

* Why falling over is so important for toddlers

* Why toddlers don’t fall over enough

* How to help toddlers fall over more

* Whether children should climb trees

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Notes

Early outdoor play predicts trajectories of child mental health in a population-based cohort: https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.70175

Biological aging and generational shifts in early-onset cancer risk: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04448-w

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