When you think about steps you can take to become more environmentally sustainable, what do you usually picture? If you’re like many people, you probably think of concrete actions, like turning off the water when we brush our teeth, or purchasing organic food. But what about those actions that might seem less tangible, but have the power to dramatically change the future of our world? Let’s zoom out and shift our focus to a widespread cultural phenomenon that, while a bit overwhelming to conceptualize, is having a more detrimental impact on the earth than perhaps we realize: the disconnect children today feel from the natural world. If we aren’t instilling in children a sense of wonder and connection with the natural world, where will the future environmentalists come from? Who will save the earth from the environmental tragedies we’re headed toward if this generation does not grow up to care about the state of our planet?
Author Richard Louv explores this phenomenon in his book Last Child in the Woods, blaming the trend away from natural play on what he calls “nature deficit disorder.” According to Louv, nature deficit disorder “describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses” (p. 36). There are an overwhelming number of children today reporting a general disconnect from nature. Kids spend more time than ever “plugged in,” more often entertained by television or the internet than catching frogs or climbing trees. In fact, researchers dub today’s young as “generation M” – for multitasking, or using multiple electronic mediums simultaneously.
When kids have so much constant access to electronic media, they are led to believe that instant gratification is the norm – that there’s no need to make your own fun when some device or another can always provide entertainment. Not to mention the increased criminalization of nature: children today are often discouraged by authority figures from building treehouses or damming up a river to float a boat because the treehouse may be a fire hazard, or the dam may cause “severe flooding.” So, of course, where do all the kids turn for their playtime? Indoors. If there were any desire left in these kids to play in nature, it is quickly shut down by adults and authority figures. Given this situation, how can we expect kids to feel connected with or inspired by nature?
This is where we come in. As the adults who act as role models for today’s generation of kids, it is our responsibility to ensure that kids are invested in the future of our planet. The first and most important step is providing kids with opportunities to experience a sense of joy, wonder, and connection with the natural world from a young age. We can do this, first and foremost, by setting a good example. Louv points out that many parents today report spending less time doing unstructured activities outdoors (with or without their kids), such as camping in the back yard or even just sitting on the front porch. More of their outdoor or physical time is spent in structured activities, such as jogging or joining fitness clubs. One of the most important things parents can do is model the importance of spending time outdoors, even if it means something as simple as hosting a backyard barbecue or talking with neighbors on the front porch.
According to Louv, children are less likely today than in the past to go and explore – whether it be their neighborhood, the woods behind their house, the creek down the road – because they are afraid. This fear is most often rooted in the way we teach our children about the “dangers” of the world outside of our homes. The concept of “stranger danger” is extremely prevalent in today’s society. But teaching kids never to talk to another adult in a society where you desperately need more communication – what does that do to the kid? The impact is great. Kids become afraid to venture outside of their often fenced-in backyards. We can have a great impact here – what we need to do is change the language we use. Rather than saying, “beware of strangers,” maybe we need to start saying, “pay attention to your surroundings.” Something as simple as a shift from negative language to positive language can make a serious impact – especially when we’re talking about impressionable young children.
Finally, we need to change our approach to education. With the intent of becoming more competitive and raising student test-scores, schools have begun cutting recess and increasing the amount of time spent studying or testing. We need to be brave enough to stand up against the constant clamor for “more school,” and start actively advocating for “better school.” Recess can be just as (if not more) important in getting kids excited about the natural world, as compared to educational exposure to the doom and gloom issue of global climate change. Kids need direct experiences in the outdoors, otherwise they begin to associate nature with fear and apocalypse rather than joy and wonder. Encourage your kid’s school board to include in the curriculum a project regarding some of the plant and animal species they might find in their own backyard. Fight for your school to keep recess a part of the school day. Education is one of the most formative experiences for children – if we don’t get it right, kids will grow up being at best indifferent and at worst afraid of the world, rather than feeling inspired to care for and nurture it.
-Adriana Walsh
For more information on nature deficit disorder and what you can do to help, pick up a copy of Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods or check out the Children & Nature Network (C&NN), an organization created to encourage and support the people and organizations working nationally and internationally to reconnect children with nature. Learn more at www.childrenandnature.org.