Mother Nature Wants Your Kids!
Journalist Richard Louv remembers when parents would shove their kids out of the house and tell them not to come back until dinner. This wasn't the finest of parenting, but as he explains in Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, today's video-game obsessed, TV-addicted kids need to be shown the door (and what lies beyond) more often. Here's how to get started.
1 Think small. The backyard has plenty of rocks hiding bug civilizations and mysterious weeds that can be pretty cool to a youngster. "Parents feel they need to take their kids to Yosemite or know the names of every plant. But it's the enthusiasm that counts," Louv says. He calls this "nearby nature," whether it's a clump of trees at the end of the cul-de-sac or a city park a few subway stops away, and it can't be overlooked.
2 Plan activities. Planting a garden in spring or organizing a backyard camp-out can create buzz about nature. "Wild crafting," the gathering of plants for art projects, and bird watching are easy and rewarding.
3 Use technology. Cellphones can be reassuring to worried parents who have sent kids out to play. And digital cameras let youngsters snap shots of the wonders they spot in the wilds of suburbia. -Vicky Hallett
This story appears in the October 3, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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