READ: Last Child In The Woods

I have been wanting to read Richard Louv's book, Last Child In The Woods for several years now, so I grabbed it when I saw it at my local library. The cover of the book says "Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder". Hmmm...nature deficit disorder. I like it. It kind of sums up some of my issues about the disconnect that kids today have with nature. What I didn't know is how much more serious this disconnect was.

He writes about how Harvard professor of education, Howard Gardner, developed his influential theory of multiple intelligence.. Gardner proposed seven types of intelligence which included: linguistic (word smart), logical-mathematical (number/reasoning smart), spatial (picture smart), bodily-kinesthetic (body smart), musical (music smart), interpersonal (people smart), and intrapersonal (self smart).  Recently he added an eighth intelligence called naturalist intelligence (nature smart).

Children with a strong intelligence in this area have keen sensory skills, like to be outside, care about plants/animals, notice things about their natural environment that others miss, keep collections of natural objects, and easily notice and classify objects or species in the natural world. Know any kids like that?

One of the other ideas that Louv discussed that was of particular interest to me was that kids need unstructured play space.  It means a natural environment where children are free to explore, create, pretend, build, and take risk without adult supervision. When children are given the trust and space to explore in this way, they develop awareness, responsibility, freedom, ingenuity, and self esteem. Many kids in my parent's generation had these opportunities, but most adults my age didn't have this.

How many of you live in a place where the only play space for your children is a subdivision park with no opportunity for playing in streams, in a small patch of forest, or building play structures like a tree house. Yep, that's my family. I started to read this book just before we went on this camping trip, and it reinforced to me even more that I have to consciously create the opportunity for them to connect with nature. Only a generation or two ago, opportunities for unstructured play happened naturally ( if you didn't grow up in a city), but now we have to make conscious efforts to make it happen.

So imagine my happy surprise when I saw my kids playing in the small patch of forest next to our campsite. And what exactly were they doing?  Collecting stones, sticks, leaves, and other bits and pieces to make homes for the chipmunks. Some of their creations were quite elaborate. One home had a vegetable garden with flowers plugged into the earth. Sweet.

The book also discusses the dependence on electronics, ADHD, and childhood obesity.  For parents interested in these topics, this book will definitely help you open up to new ideas about how we live.