GLASGOW'S first outdoor kindergarten has opened in an attempt to tackle the "cotton-wool culture" that has seen Scotland's children become among the most overweight in the developed world.

By George Arbuthnott

GLASGOW'S first outdoor kindergarten has opened in an attempt to tackle the "cotton-wool culture" that has seen Scotland's children become among the most overweight in the developed world.

With recent figures showing that 20% of primary pupils are overweight, Woodland Outdoor Kindergartens aims to provide a remedy for obesity by offering youngsters activities such as den building, animal tracking and vegetable growing.

The minister for children, Adam Ingram, who opened the nursery in Pollok Park yesterday, said that young children needed to "reconnect" with the natural world.

He said: "There is a cotton-wool culture that has developed in Scotland, and encouraging young people to get out and reconnect with the natural world can only enrich their lives."

The Scandinavian-style outdoor nursery is the third of its kind in the country, but the first in the West of Scotland.

The other centres, Mind Stretchers in Perthshire and the Secret Garden in Fife, have been popular and, having sunk £25,000 into their Glasgow nursery, owners Debbie Simmers and Alison Latta are hoping for similar success.

Outdoor kindergartens were first developed over 50 years ago in the cold climes of Scandinavia and Germany, where they are now commonplace.

And, it seems, the new Scottish version is firmly committed to hardening-up the next generation -only in the event of hail and gale-force winds will the children be allowed to play indoors.