Posted On 21 Aug 2018

To start with, let’s talk about how we define nature. Many people think of nature as wilderness, that you have to take kids to a national park–which would be great–but nearby nature can be a clump of trees at the end of the street, or even an alleyway with grass along the edge of the building. A sidewalk with grass in between can look very insignificant to an adult’s eyes, but to a child, that grass can be the whole universe, particularly when they’re very young.

Nature Deficit Disorder
I’m very careful in my book not to say that nature deficit disorder is some kind of known medical diagnosis. Maybe it should be someday, but it’s not now. What it is is a way to describe the disconnection between children and nature that is happening at an accelerating rate over the last two or three decades. It has real significance for the health of children and for the health of the earth itself.

Kids are Becoming More Disconnected from Nature
There are several reasons this disconnection is happening. Obviously, when you cut down the woods, it’s hard for a child to go out and play in the woods. If you manicure your backyard completely, it’s hard for a child to go out and dig that hole to china that, perhaps, we, as kids, tried to dig. But there are other reasons. Kids’ lives are so “scheduled” now. Many are involved in organized activities from dawn until dusk.

Benefits of Nature
The studies ongoing at the University of Illinois show that kids with the symptoms of attention deficit disorder, who get a little bit of nature, get much better — even children as young as 5. Studies show tremendous stress reduction both for adults and children. By the way, getting outdoors is great not only for the kids, but also for the adults who take kids out to explore nature. In terms of creativity, children who play in a natural play area, compared to a flat playground, tend to invent their own games far more than kids on a flat playground. There are also studies that show that test scores go up in schools that have outdoor classrooms.