Follow-Up on Flabberghasted

Set to wing by childhood hand
In meadow bathed in light
Milkweed angels by the score
My young girls full delight

A term has even been coined for this alarming phenomenon: Nature-Deficit Disorder.
A book by Richard Louv addresses the subject:
'Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder'. Quite well done...

Here's an article:
http://www.youthspecialties.com/articles/topics/culture/naturedd.php

eB

Please don't underestimate parents' desire to introduce their children to the world and all its delights. While many of us may bow to technological pressures (in some cases because schools are introducing computers at a much younger age), most balance it with nature hikes, trips to the playground, walks in a park, etc. And remember, didn't many of us receive the latest gadgets (e.g., Walkmans) when we were kids...

I am a huge nature lover and we are blessed to live in a remote, rural area of Oklahoma with some acreage. Even tho my kids do own all (well, maybe not all) the latest gadgets they also are nature lovers. We take long walks, watch as the seasons progress thru each stage, they know all the birds,plants,and trees that live in our area. We sit outside at night and watch the stars, and name them, sometimes sitting outside all night watching meteorite showeres. They have many outdoor activities as well as the techno kind. We fish, do target shooting (no hunting), swim, walk, have tree swings, explore the surrounding land and creeks.

But, I do understand your concern because not all kids get that balance. My boys have friends that NEVER play outdoors except when they come to visit us.

I vividly remember in the summers being out the door at day break when I was a kid and being out until it was way past dusk and our parents were calling from their porches. We had "neighborhood" softball games in a field beside my house and played "Annie Over" until we couldn't run anymore. We had "forts" in Mr. Gleason's pine trees and the pine straw made fine pieces of furniture. We had contests to see who could catch the most lightning bugs. That was always the saddest thing about school starting back... being cooped up inside. :c) Course, then you also rarely heard about child abductions either. Now, I won't even let my son go into a public restroom unless I am right outside the door waiting. It's really very sad indeed.

I grew up entirely in a very urban environment, and my sense of wonder was not hindered by the fact that I spent a lot of time playing in my friend's basement, and with a computer, once that became an option. My child will never have the freedom I did, and if it comes to pass that I allow the sort of wandering that I enjoyed, you can be sure the little critter will be required to have a mobile phone so I can be sure all is well.

Direct contact with nature is only one avenue to a sense of wonder with the world. Most of the animals that gave me the sort of appreciation you're talking about were the sorts I watched on PBS nature shows. It doesn't make it less important to me to protect whales that I only saw the ocean in all its glory once before I was a legal adult.

The beauty of the world comes to people from so many sources, some of which are books (I still remember the description of mountains in "Heidi") and some of which are digital. Sometimes it was the ants on the sidewalk. Any parent that gives their kid a chance to see beauty will find their child amazed. The worry is that so few ADULTS seem to notice the beauty, and forget to let their kids remind them.

Joy,

Good point you make about adults missing the beauty around them. Perhaps it is the adults that are missing the point and are over-connected with technology. I think it is a matter of balance. Children have an innate sense of wonder about all things. I'm concerned about society as a whole. I mean, will a day come when kids think their hamburgers come from a factory, and not from a farm? We aren't very far off from this as a reality. Corporate farming is a reality now.... which is why I eat less and less meat as the years roll by.

I had a client years ago who made the comment that it was IMPORTANT to let one's bare feet come in contact with the soil on a regular basis. I took this advice to heart one day while walking through the forest on a late summers' day. A thunderstorm came up out of nowhere and once I realized I was 30 minutes away from my car, I just took off my shoes and walked barefoot through the mud for a mile. It was THRILLING to have mud oozing up between my toes! Later that very week, I watched a news report telling parents not to allow their children to walk barefoot in the dirt because it could lead to parasites! GEEZY CREAZY! Are we raising a generation of bubble-children? Bacteria can kill... but it also keeps us alive!

MUD IS GOOD! There... I said it... MUD IS GOOD... NATURE IS GOOD. Get your ass out into nature and breathe the fresh air, and let the eyes of the forest watch over you... there are ways to get in touch with the planet no matter where you live... whether it be PBS, the local Zoo... or walking through a patch of woods in the suburbs... JUST DO IT.

Milkweed pods? Any relation to Ipods? What do they do exactly? :) Sorry, poor attempt at humour..

It may just be me and my limited experience with children, but it seems to me that too many kids are so into the technology of today that they lack imagination, and the motivation to do much of anything beyond playing on their computers and game Stations and Ipods.

I am aware of the dangers of over-generalization, and there are always exceptions, but if this were not the case, why is there so much concern expressed by the Medical Profession regarding the level of fitness among today's children? Personally, I think the concerns raised by Susan are valid far too often.

I once gave a Lego set as a gift to an 8 year old girl. Apart from building a little house, she had absolutely no ideas what else it was good for, or what other things she could construct from those little bricks. Depressing to someone who spent hours and hours building castles and forts and robots and a myriad other things.

As an adult, I have had to re-learn some of the wonder I experienced as a child wandering through the bush, and the fields, and the mountains, thanks in no small part, I might add, to people like Susan and Rob who have been instrumental in reminding me of the beauty in the world around me. I am just thankful that I had the foundations upon which to build. I wonder how many of the kids of today will have those same fond memories to fall back on in the future?

No, we don't all have the same opportunities to experience all of nature first-hand, and there is much to be said for books and computers making it possible for even the inner-city children to see and learn about things they wouldn't be able to otherwise. I admit there are dangers out there that we as children did not have to consider.

But I, like Susan, find it flabberghasting that so few children are being afforded the opportunity to inter-react with the natural world around them.

I totally agree with susan. As a retired teacher I think I can speak with some authority that many children of all ages are really over programed. They have classes before school, after school, in the evening and on weekends. Mostly sports, which is good, but they don't have time to walk in the mud, look at the clouds or find a milk weed pod. Some parents think their children must be BUSY every minute in order to get into a good high school, or be well rounded, or to stay out of their parent's way???? Many had so many outside activities they had no time for homework let alone discovering nature. I am just glad I had the time and freedom to explore my world and my children did too.