A new guidebook provides parents in Finland with advice and practical tips on spending more time in nature during pregnancy as well as in the first years of a child's life.Exposing children to nature from a young age helps develop their immune system and provides an excellent environment for learning, the guidebook says. Image: Minna Matintupa / YleYle News11:36Parents in Finland are being encouraged to spend more time in nature during pregnancy and early childhood years as a means of strengthening a child's immune system and overall development.The benefits of exposing children to nature from a young age are contained in a guidebook prepared by the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (XAMK) and set to be distributed to family health clinics nationwide.The guidebook, titled 'Raised by Nature' and available in English, notes that the foundation for a healthy lifestyle is built during a child's early years.Spending time in nature during pregnancy may promote the wellbeing of the unborn baby, while a small child's trips to a forest, for example, can help develop their immune system and motor skills as well as provide them with an excellent environment for learning, it says."When outdoor activities and spending time in nature become a habit in the family’s everyday life, its positive effects are enhanced and can support the wellbeing of the whole family in the long term," the leaflet states.The guide also provides practical tips on safely exploring natural environments when pregnant, with a baby and with a toddler.For example, during a traditional forest trip, parents can allow the child to "explore natural materials with their hands" by giving them items such as bark, moss, sticks and cones.There is lots for a child to discover in a natural environment, such as a forest. Image: Minna Matintupa / YleSanna Kuosmanen, a project manager at XAMK, told Yle that the 'Raised by Nature' project was started because of the growing body of research evidence into the health benefits for young children of natural environments."The guide was created in response to a need to increase families' knowledge about the health benefits of nature and to encourage families with young children to spend time in nature," Kuosmanen said.She added that the guidebook is the first material of its kind — on the benefits of natural environments to children's welfare — to be distributed nationwide to all of Finland's regional healthcare authorities, also known as wellbeing services counties.The Raised by Nature project received funding of nearly 100,000 euros from Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund.Yle News' All Points North podcast tagged along at a forest daycare in central Helsinki, where toddlers spend their mornings exploring the woods instead of playing with toys. Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.What's it like to grow up in Finland?What's it like to grow up in Finland?