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Nature Deficit Disorder, Does Your Child Have It?
If your child doesn’t spend very much time enjoying nature, he may be suffering from Nature Deficit Disorder? Richard Louv, author of “Last Child In The Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder”, asserts that many modern children do suffer from this disorder. In fact, other medical and mental health experts and a growing body of researchers are also concerned about how little time our children are spending in the great outdoors. Why should parents be aware of this? What are some of the problems that result from nature deficit and what can we do to prevent it in our children?
First, let’s define the problem. As Louv explains it, when our kids spend less time in a natural environment, it results in a growing trend of weight issues in children, attention problems, depression, anxiety, and stress. Louv states that several studies point to a connection between the increasing amount of time our kids spend indoors doing more sedentary activities, and emotional, health and social problems.
To be fair, many parents are understandably concerned about safety. But this comes at a price. Many of us, who are parents today, remember spending a large part of our own childhood outside, even in less than perfect weather! Long walks through the woods with friends, bike rides through the neighborhood feeling the wind in our hair, day dreaming for hours on the tire swing under the tree, playing in the rain, these were the things memories were made of. Our kids today are often shuttled from one activity to another; most of these take place in structured environments and many of them indoors.
What are our kids missing out on? Research points to several things. A study conducted by the University of Illinois found that children with attention problems can focus better after engaging in outdoor activities. Other studies point to increased cognitive ability among kids who have access to natural settings and they display fewer attention lapses (such as interrupting, not listening and distraction). Also important are the findings that unstructured play (the kind that takes place when kids are free to explore the great outdoors) leads to enhanced emotional and social development. They learn better problem solving and social skills. Not to be discounted is the fact any Mom can testify that getting the kids outdoors makes them calmer, helps them eat better, and sleep better!
So how do we make sure our kids are getting enough time outside, especially if we don’t live in a rural area? One way is to structure recreation around nature. Spending time in parks, taking walks on nature trails, hiking, mountain climbing, visiting lakes, rivers and beaches and picnics outdoors are some ideas. Even in urban areas you may have access to city parks and botanical gardens. Build a treehouse in your backyard or, for a summer long project, plant a garden . Encourage your kids to go outside and play as much as possible. Make it mandatory if they don’t seem to enjoy it at first. Like eating vegetables, they often will start to love it with time. If it’s not safe for your kids to play outside without supervision, then spend time outside with them. Go for walks outside as a family, eat some of your meals outdoors if weather permits, or involve the kids in outdoor chores like yard work or hanging laundry. The benefits will likely be obvious to you after a short period of time and are worth the extra effort.
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