For the first time in history, the bond between
children and nature has been broken, writes child advocate and
journalist Richard Louv in Last Child in the
Woods. The culprits are many: Kids prefer to play inside
where the electrical outlets are, instead of outdoors where the
wild birds sing. Computers, TV and video games contribute to what
Louv dubs “nature-deficit disorder,” as do heightened parental
fears (“stranger danger”), overly strict covenants and regulations
(no tree houses), and classrooms increasingly removed from nature
(no recess).
But this is no doomsday book. The first half
lays out gloomy details sifted from over 3,000 hours of
Louv’s interviews with parents, but the second half
highlights recent positive research on how the natural world
affects child development. Nature can provide an effective antidote
to obesity, depression and attention-deficit disorder; it can
reduce stress, improve test scores and develop critical thinking
and decision-making skills. Above all, contact with nature can
instill a sense of wonder.
There is a hopeful conclusion
to this well-written book. As individuals, we may feel helpless in
the face of big environmental issues, such as global warming. But
we can still take a child into the woods and fields, and let the
natural world restore the child’s “nature deficit” and create
a vital, lifelong bond.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Out of the video arcade and into the woods.
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