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SPECIAL kids’ HEALTH REPORT
Recess, soccer practice, the neighbor
hood playground all are great av
enues for getting our kids up and out.
But when it comes to their mental as
well as physical well-being, children
need something else, something el
emental: They need nature.
So says a new school of thought that is gaining
notice by children’s medical and mental health experts.
Supporters assert that, for a child, a deep forest or
sprawling parkland can be the best playground ever.
Author Richard Louv’s groundbreaking book, Last
Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-
Deficit Disorder, has been a catalyst for kick-starting
the movement. Louv’s new book also gives a name
to what he says is a troubling disconnect between
today’s children and the great outdoors: “nature
deficit disorder.”
Blame it on shrinking green space, overschedul
ing by families whatever the reason, the result is
limiting the potential of today’s young people, Louv
says. He brings together anecdotal evidence gath
ered from years of traveling the United States and
talking to kids, as well as the most comprehensive
research on nature and its benefits. He concludes
that the absence of nature in many children’s lives
is key when it comes to problems they increasingly
MEET OUR EXPERTS
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Tedd Mitchell, M.D.
In addition to dispensing medical
advice every week in USA WEEKEND'S
Health Smart column, Mitchell is
president, medical director and staff
physician at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas.
He is also a member of the President's
Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Martha Farrell Erickson, Ph.D.
Erickson is director of the Irving B.
Harris Programs (Center for Early
Education and Development) at the
University of Minnesota. She also
writes a syndicated weekly newspaper
column on parenting.
Richard Louv
Louv is the author of seven books,
including the best-selling Last Child in
the Woods: Saving Our Children from
Nature-Deficit Disorder. In addition
to writing, he advocates for children,
serving as the chairman of the Children
& Nature Network.
8
USA WEEKEND • Nov. 16-18,2007
MOTHER NATURE
KNOWS BEST
Doctors, psychologists
and child advocates %
agree: Getting your kids
back in touch with the
great outdoors can improve
their health and well-being.
face, such as obesity, attention disorders, depression
and stress. Louv posits that exposure to nature can
help prevent these ills and enhance our children’s
academic and emotional growth.
“Although we don’t yet have a wealth of rigor
ous, controlled studies that allow us to make a
definitive statement about cause and effect, we do
have a variety of studies that collectively point
to an association between outdoor play and an ajjp
array of good outcomes for kids,” says Martha
Erickson, Ph.D., a children’s mental health §MJb!z
expert and senior fellow and professor at the
University of Minnesota. (See “The Mr
Outside Advantage” on the _ Ms/“ —
next page for some of the • ,
latest findings.) *
Over the years, the hours that children W
spend playing outside can pay off when it wk
comes to physical, intellectual and social devel
opment. Yet, such valuable interaction is fleet
ing these days. FYom 1997 to 2003, there was a 50%
drop in kids who participated in outdoor activities such
as hiking, walking and fishing, according to a Univer
sity of Maryland study.
Erickson and Louv, who both are active in the
Children & Nature Network, which seeks to raise
awareness about the importance of nature in kids’
lives, say that even time-pressed families and city
dwellers can find places that fit the bill. And law
makers are listening, too. Some states, including Con
necticut, California and Maine, have launched initia
tives to get more young people outdoors. And on the
federal level, the [Tending No Child Left Inside Act
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Cover and cover story photo Illustrations by CJ. Burton for USA WEEKEND