Howard Pocket Watch Price Guide

Beyond the nature-deficit disorder

Got dirt? "In South Carolina, a truckload of earth is the same price as the video games!" reports Norman McGee, a father in this state who bought a pick-up at low load of dirt for his daughter and her friends.

McGee is in the process of consciousness action. So is Liz Baird, who keeps a bowl "wonder" available for her children.

When Baird was a little girl she would fill her Natural Wonders-pockets with acorns, rocks, mushrooms. "My mother got tired of washing clothes and? Nding these treasures in the bottom of the washer or disintegrated the dryer, "Liz recalls." It came with "Liz's Wonder Bowl, and the idea was that I could empty my pockets into the bowl. I could still enjoy my treasures, and try? e what things are and do not cause trouble with the laundry. "

McGee and Baird are among Thousands of parents have joined – and are leading – one child and the international movements of nature. Sometimes known as Leave No Child Inside, the effort is bringing together people from all walks of life, which create the basis of regional surveys, national legislation and national, and changes in their own families to help children become happier, healthier and smarter.

An emerging body of scientific knowledge links nature time of longer attention span, better cognitive functioning, stress reduction, and strengthen family ties. What better way to improve parent-child attachment than to walk in the woods together, disengaging from distracting electronics, advertising and peer pressure?

Howard Frumkin, director of the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control, recently describes the clear benefits of nature experiences for the healthy development of the child and adult well-being.

"In the same way that water protection and protection air are strategies for promoting public health, protecting natural landscapes can be regarded as a powerful form of medicine preventive, "he said. He believes that future research on positive health effects of nature must be conducted in collaboration with architects, planners, Park designers and landscape architects. "Of course, there is still much we must learn, as this kind of contact with nature are the most beneficial health, the degree of communication is necessary and how to measure it, and what groups of people benefit most. But we know enough to act. "

If you are a parent who has missed out on nature as a child, here is your chance. Indeed, all the gifts of nature that come to children also come to adult who has a good of a child to nature.

Young people act, too, by becoming natural leaders in the movement. For example, a girl of seven years in Virginia rounded up her friends and puts them in his own daughters Gone Wild in Nature Club. Together, they organize camps and backyard bug hunt.

In Mississippi, teenager Josh Morrison founded Geeks in the Woods (www.geeksinthewoods.org) for his friends and fellow geeks everywhere. It defines the term "geek" as a game "Environmental educated child," and said that he and his friends – "tired of being labeled" addicts Tech – can have their consoles and games of their time outside as: "We could be the generation that has turned around to return … a balance between virtual reality and what sustains all life. . . nature. "

FIVE actions you can take today

1. Embark a family walk when the moon is full. There is a whole new set of animals, sounds and images there. Listen to animals calling. Owls and bats are looking for prey. Look at the bright things, like worms and fungus on trees. And look at the stars.

2. Help your child discover a hidden universe. Find a scrap board and place it on bare ground. Come back in a day or two, lift the edge and see how many species have found refuge. identify them using a field guide. Return to this universe once a month, lift the card and discover new things.

3. Tell your children stories about your childhood scene of a peculiar nature. Then, help them find their own: leaves beneath a willow court the bend of a creek, the meadow in the woods. Let it become their intimate connection with the natural world.

4. Revive old traditions. Bug Collect lightning at dusk, release them at dawn. Make a leaf collection. Keep a terrarium or aquarium. Go crawdadding tie a piece of liver or bacon a chain, drop it into a stream or pond, wait for a tug Crab.

5. Invent your own nature Thurs. A mother's suggestion: "We help children focus on more long walks and playing" find ten critters'-mammals, birds, insects, reptiles, snails and other creatures. Find a creature can also mean discovering footprints, mole holes, and other signs that the animal spent by or living there. "

Adapted from the Family Child in the Woods by Richard Louv, © 2008. Reprinted by permission of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

In our families and our communities, it is time to act. Therefore, the new, enlarged 2008 edition of "Last Child in the Woods" contains a "Guide" with 100 shares that families and communities can take, as well as discussion questions, a report on the movement, and other resources for parents, educators, environmentalists, business people and community leaders.

Richard Louv, recipient of the Medal 2008 Audubon, is the author of seven books. The President of the Children & Nature Network. He is also honorary co-chair of the National Forum on Children and nature.

About the Author

For more information on the Second Edition of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder,” go to www.lastchildinthewoods.com. To help build the movement, please join the Children & Nature Network at www.childrenandnature.org

1/2 Howard Stern interviews Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Washington DC, 1985