A powerful new book details how children are losing touch with nature–and suffering health and social consequences as a result. The book has launched a movement to get kids back into the woods.
The first time I saw a bear, I was eight years old and camping in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was a moonless summer night and I beamed a flashlight across the campground road to see a big bear with his head all the way down into a bear-proof garbage can. I was fascinated and terrified at the same time.
That moment, more than 35 years ago, remains vivid in my memory even today.It was only the start of many outdoor adventures both in my backyard woods and in wilderness places from Maine to the Arctic. Being outside has always been an important part of life.
But those formative years took place before the advent of computers, 24-hour news stations, and the Xbox. Today when most kids go outside they tend to be involved with organized sports. Gone for many are the days of riding your bike to town, catching frogs in the swamp, or waiting for the bus without parental supervision. These changes in our culture are beginning to have significant impact not only on how kids feel about the outdoors, but the state of children’s health.
Childhood obesity, diabetes, and attention deficit disorders seem to be increasing, at least in part due to the different world our children are experiencing today. The information age has provided our kids with an endless array of video games, HD televisions, and cell phone ring tones. One middle school student was recently quoted as saying he likes playing indoors because that’s where the electrical outlets are.
Children today are more disconnected from nature than ever before. This disconnect is having negative impacts on their health and their feelings about the outdoors. If this trend continues, in 20 years we could live in a society where the life expectancy is less than today and the general population has no support for things like wildlife and national parks. On this the writer Robert Michael Pyle has asked, “What is the extinction of the condor to a child who has never known a wren?”
Richard Louv, a San Diego journalist, has written a book that has become the call to arms for this problem. Much like Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring published more than four decades ago, Last Child in the Woods, Saving our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder has sparked a new movement among a cross section of the American public. Educators, conservationists, health care workers and business people all are working together to find solutions, and ensure that our children do not lose touch with nature.
There are a number of things that we can do today, in our own communities to keep our children connected with nature. First, read Louv’s book, which gives a great overview of the problem. Louv focuses on the health benefits of playing outside and remarks that it would be better for a doctor to prescribe outdoor play rather than drugs like Ritalin.
Second, get outside! By simply spending time outdoors with our kids, they will be more interested in nature. Take a bike ride on the C&O canal, or float the Potomac or Shenandoah. Take your kids to nature programs, such as the ones sponsored by NCTC and the local Audubon Society.
Finally, get out for a weekend and go camping. There are many places nearby to spend the night outside. And if your kids say, “We don’t want to go camping, there are bears out there,” just reply: “that’s why we’re going.”