Kids hurt when they feel unseen or when they feel like they don’t belong — and TreeRunner Raleigh Adventure Park is the perfect remedy!
Bullying and harassment. Kids of all ages experience these things as a result of their race, ethnicity, sexual identity, gender, or another factor in how they identify.
And this is a huge concern for all of us.
This kind of stress impacts how kids thrive in their health, learning, and other aspects of development. In our bodies, this is the fight, flight, or freeze response that pumps adrenaline and cortisol. If left unchecked, chronic stress can manifest and impact physical development, brain health, and learning in all of us, but namely our kids.
TreeRunner Raleigh Adventure Park is a safe haven, a place where kids can show up and be themselves. Take a moment with us in your day and explore how important just being seen as a kid supports their well-being. Learn how we can better promote this in making them feel safe so they can show up exactly as themselves!
All the Feels
Growing up and learning about all of what our world is — the wonderfully amazing, the sorrows, and everything in between — is a lot for kids; it’s a lot for anyone. And this brings all the feels.
As adults, most of us have the skills to sort through and understand complex situations, but when kids are faced with racism and sexism at increasingly younger ages, it is a lot to process. It’s creating little messages convey that simply by being themselves, they don’t belong or aren’t valued for who they are.
It makes showing up as themselves really tough.
Short-term, there is often an adaptation to their environment, but long-term it can be disruptive that can lead to chronic health issues and brain development that may impact how they learn. 
What Stigmas, Misperceptions, and Marginalization Have To Do With It
When it comes to feeling stigmatized, misperceived, marginalized, or overlooked, this can increase the fear of being judged and adding a burden that impairs their ability to focus, dwindle engagement, diminish performance, and rattle relationships with kids and adults alike.
So, the million dollar question here is, how can we help kids show up as themselves?
While it certainly is a call for all people to become more empathetic, a positive environment, research has found, is just one way to build healthy relationships that better cultivate a sense of belonging for kids — a place for them to show up just as they are!
Get your kids into the towering timber at TreeRunner Raleigh Adventure Park!
TreeRunner Raleigh Adventure Park is the perfect place to ignite a sense of belonging! While this can be a serious and heavy issue to discuss and address, the great news is that being outdoors is great for kids.
While they’re soaring in the trees on an aerial adventure and working through obstacles, a couple unique things are happening, including:
- They’re building trusting relationships
- They’re learning how to trust themselves
- They’re learning impactful problem solving skills
- They’re around new and different people
- They’re learning important social skills
Read more from TreeRunner Raleigh Adventure Park:
- How to Gain Confidence In Yourself at an Adventure Park
- Team Building at TreeRunner Raleigh Adventure Park
- Need a Burst of Creativity? Find it in a Bird’s Eye View at TreeRunner!
The outdoors is a great place to foster belonging and cultivate empathy, teaching, and exposing kids to the differences that make us, us!