The Childhood We’re Losing—and How Kentucky Can Help Bring It Back

By Ashley Hoffman

Remember when free range parenting was just… parenting?

When “don't come home until the street lights come on” was the expectation, not the exception.

Today, childhood looks different.  Children are spending less time outdoors and more time in front of screens than any generation before them.  There are many reasons for this shift—busy families, safety concerns, changing neighborhoods, and limited access to outdoor spaces—but the result is the same: fewer opportunities for children to explore, take healthy risks, and learn through unstructured play. 

But what are we losing?  

Risk is an inherent part of outdoor play that students are no longer experiencing.  When children play outdoors they are constantly learning and experiencing the world around them and how they fit into it.  Scraped knees and muddy clothes were signs of learning, but now they are a rite of passage that is disappearing.  

In recent years, educators and families have begun to recognize this loss and respond. Across the country, nature-based and forest preschools, such as Thrive Forest School in Oldham County, Swallowtail Forest School in Louisville and Little Garden Nature School in Clarkson, Kentucky have grown in popularity, offering young children daily opportunities to learn outdoors through free play, discovery, and risk.  Research consistently shows that children in nature-based programs demonstrate stronger social-emotional skills, improved physical health, increased focus, and deeper connections to the natural world. Time outdoors has also been linked to reduced stress, improved attention, and better overall well-being for young children. 

But an important question remains: who has access to these opportunities?

Across the Commonwealth, there is a growing network of forest schools and nature-based early learning programs that are interested in becoming licensed childcare providers. Under current rules, however, the lack of clarity around licensing for nature-based models is a barrier—particularly for programs that would like to offer full-day or full-time care to families.  That means nature-based programs cannot offer full-day care that working families need and cannot participate in state childcare subsidy programs, vastly limiting which families can access their programs. 

This is where House Bill 496 comes in.

HB 496 would open the door for programs that wish to pursue licensing to do so in a way that is clear, appropriate, and aligned with their outdoor-focused model. This bill would help expand childcare options in Kentucky by supporting innovative, high-quality early learning environments—especially in communities where childcare access is already limited. By allowing interested nature-based programs to pursue licensure, HB 496 supports families, strengthens the early childhood workforce, and increases access to safe, developmentally appropriate care.  

Importantly, this bill also supports rural communities across Kentucky, where childcare access is often limited and traditional facilities may not exist. Nature-based programs are uniquely positioned to meet these needs, using land and outdoor spaces that are already available. HB 496 helps expand high-quality childcare options where families need them most.

Other states have already taken similar steps, creating licensing pathways for nature-based programs and learning valuable lessons along the way. Kentucky has the opportunity to learn from these models and draw on national expertise and best practices—while crafting an approach that fits our communities.

To be clear, not every forest school or nature-based program will want to become licensed.  There are restrictions that come with being a licensed childcare provider that mean it would not be a fit for everyone.  HB 496 respects that reality.  It simply opens the door for those who want to serve families in this way.

Ultimately, this bill is about choice—for programs, for families, and for communities.

I want to see a Kentucky where more children have access to the kind of childhood many of us remember: one rooted in curiosity, resilience, and connection to the world around them. HB 496 is one way we can increase those opportunities.  Now is the time to tell your legislators this matters to you.