NATURE DEFICIT DISORDER
Have you ever heard of Nature Deficit Disorder ? Although the condition doesn't clinically exist, the problem in our society definitely exists. Nature Deficit is a term that was coined in 2005 by author Richard Louv, who wrote the book The Last Child in the Woods. In his book, he talks about how over time people have started spending less and less time outside, and it's a serious crisis. Both adults and children in our society are facing a Nature Deficit, but especially children. Look around today; as I mentioned before children are facing a play deficit. Where do children play ? Outside ! Children are not only getting less and less playtime today, resulting in a play deficit, but children are facing a nature deficit crisis as well.
If you look around today, you can realize that kids just aren't outside like they used to be. In fact kids are outside very little today, as I mentioned many times in my Play Deficit posts. Kids are in school, in their houses, or inside other buildings. Kids are spending very little time outside, which is quite the opposite of what it was years and years ago, and the problem is only getting worse warns Louv.
The causes of Nature Deficit are spending too much time inside, watching TV, playing on the computer, playing video games, doing school work, and having an overload extracurricular schedule. Today 16 percent of children 6-19 are obese , and a constant indoor lifestyle and physical inactivity have contributed to numerous health problems that children are facing today. Obesity and ADHD again have increased over the last decade.
Children who grow up with a nature deficit are at serious risk of adult health problems, including pulmonary, cardiovascular, and mental health issues. "The average American now spends practically every minute except for the time in school - using a smartphone, computer, television, or electronic device ", said Tamar Lewin who resported back in 2010 from a Kaiser Family Foundation study. As I have stated in the technology and kids part of my website, kids are literally glued to electronics today, and it's making Nature Deficit Disorder grow faster and faster among youth. It's been said that the constant sedentary lifestyle and hurried lifestyle of today is deleting the play out of children's lives, especially outdoor play. Over scheduling kids can cause anxiety and depression, as well as it is making the Nature Deficit Disorder conflict worse and worse. It is during outdoor unstructured play that kids can relax and unwind.
The causes of Nature Deficit are spending too much time inside, watching TV, playing on the computer, playing video games, doing school work, and having an overload extracurricular schedule. Today 16 percent of children 6-19 are obese , and a constant indoor lifestyle and physical inactivity have contributed to numerous health problems that children are facing today. Obesity and ADHD again have increased over the last decade.
Children who grow up with a nature deficit are at serious risk of adult health problems, including pulmonary, cardiovascular, and mental health issues. "The average American now spends practically every minute except for the time in school - using a smartphone, computer, television, or electronic device ", said Tamar Lewin who resported back in 2010 from a Kaiser Family Foundation study. As I have stated in the technology and kids part of my website, kids are literally glued to electronics today, and it's making Nature Deficit Disorder grow faster and faster among youth. It's been said that the constant sedentary lifestyle and hurried lifestyle of today is deleting the play out of children's lives, especially outdoor play. Over scheduling kids can cause anxiety and depression, as well as it is making the Nature Deficit Disorder conflict worse and worse. It is during outdoor unstructured play that kids can relax and unwind.
There are things that we can do for kids and for parents to do for their children. One way to prevent Nature Deficit Disorder include allowing children to play in different environments and to use natural things as toys; things that foster natural play for children include water, trees, flowers, streams, sticks, bushes, and woods. Another way is to take your kids outside on a daily basis. Another one is when signing your children up for schools and camps, find ones that are nature oriented. Finally, make time in your child's life to have ample amount of time to play outside, daily if possible. The more the better.
Playing outside also has so many benefits for children, including children doing better academically, doing better on standardized tests, having longer attention spans, becoming more creative, and significant improvement in cognitive development, self discipline, imaginative and creative expression, language skills, and social interaction. Studies have also shown that children who spend more time outdoors have less anxiety, less depression, and less behavior problems.
Playing outside also has so many benefits for children, including children doing better academically, doing better on standardized tests, having longer attention spans, becoming more creative, and significant improvement in cognitive development, self discipline, imaginative and creative expression, language skills, and social interaction. Studies have also shown that children who spend more time outdoors have less anxiety, less depression, and less behavior problems.
With kids that I have worked with in schools and with kids I have worked with during after school hours and during the summer, I see so many kids are suffering from Nature Deficit. It has gotten to the point where kids sometimes hate it when I take them outside to play. They have been so badly damaged for so long that they would all rather be inside staring at a screen instead of just playing, which is really sad. Fortunately there are some kids that I work with that haven't suffered from NDD, and they love playing outside, and they spend lots of their free time playing outdoors.
Kids used to spend hours and hours outside playing in nature, climbing trees, playing hide and seek, building forts, and doing so many other precious things. Parents of today and other adults really need to take a look around and determine whether they want kids of today to continue on this path. Do we want our kids to grow up spending their childhoods inside staring at screens all day ? Do we want our kids to have an all indoor life ? Do we want our kids to grow up unhealthy ? Do we want our children to be the last child in the woods ?
I'd like to leave you here today with 2 things. The first thing I'd like to share is a video that shines light on Nature Deficit Disorder. The video features Richard Louv, author of the Last Child in the Woods speaking about the Nature Deficit Disorder crisis. The second thing I'd like to leave you with is a blog website called 1000 hours outside, which is a website about a mother who lives in Michigan, and her goal every year is to spend 1,000 hours a year outside with her kids. She picked 1,000 hours outside to rival the 1,200 hours that the average American spends watching television each year.
Richard Louv
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrlsIg_FdcI
1,000 Hours Outside
http://1000hoursoutside.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrlsIg_FdcI
1,000 Hours Outside
http://1000hoursoutside.com/