I mentioned this a few weeks ago, as part of a discussion with Dave about what we want for our kids. And technophiles that we are, we are really both on the same pages as kids being outside as much as possible.  On a day like today, where I’ve felt like shit and headachey and tired and just blah, and consequently spent most of the day inside and online, I feel slughtly hypocritical, but I can admit that.  ANYWAY. (I also finally realized at 5 that I had had no tea in almost 36 hours, which, my one cuppa makes allll the difference in the world.)

On the news just now, they had the guy that I was referring to (but didn’t know it at the time) Richard Louv, who has coined the term Nature Deficit Disorder.  It’s not a clinical diagnosis, Louv calls it a "disorder of society."

From an article at Salon:

"In his new book,
"Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit
Disorder," Louv argues that sensationalist media coverage and paranoid
parents have literally "scared children straight out of the woods and
fields," while promoting a litigious culture of fear that favors "safe"
regimented sports over imaginative play. Well-meaning elementary school
curricula may teach students everything there is to know about the
Amazon rain forest’s endangered species, but do little to encourage
kids’ personal relationship with the world outside their own doors. And
advances in technology, while opening up a wealth of "virtual"
experiences to the young, have made it easier and easier for children
to spend less time outside."

(Salon requires you to view an ad for access, but this is a great interview, and worth the 30 seconds.)

Here’s another article, that goes into the ADHD link:

"In
fifty-four of fifty-six cases, outdoor activities in more natural
settings led to a greater reduction in ADHD symptoms than activities in
less natural areas. The only instances when symptoms worsened occurred
in the artificial environments. In a related experiment, the laboratory
found that children could focus on specific tasks better in green
settings."

As a teacher, I LOVED taking the kids outdoors, because I grew up in the woods, and most kids don’t HAVE those experiences. We had a nature trail, and when I took kids out there, there was always at least one that said "I forgot how cool this is!"  It’s why May sucked so bad, the endless rain made it impossible to take them out.  (Our school is very ‘safe’ and rain might have them catch cold!)  One of the points that Louv makes is that we’ve over-sanitized things for kids, that you have to be away from the rocks because they are dangerous, etc etc… Or, how planned neighborhoods have covenants that make it impossible to have a treehouse, for instance, and how that affects children.

It’s just a really great thing to consider, and it makes SO much sense.  I’d love to read the book.  And our kids are so going to sent out to play ALL the time.