Richard Louv
Richard Louv
Richard Louvis an American nonfiction author and journalist. He is best known for his seventh book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, which investigates the relationship of children and the natural world in current and historical contexts. Louv created the term “nature-deficit disorder” to describe possible negative consequences to individual health and the social fabric as children move indoors and away from physical contact with the natural world – particularly unstructured, solitary experience. Louv cites...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAuthor
CountryUnited States of America
The physical exercise and emotional stretching that children enjoy in unorganized play is more varied and less time-bound than is found in organized sports. Playtime—especially unstructured, imaginative, exploratory play—is increasingly recognized as an essential component of wholesome child development.
Quite simply, when we deny our children nature, we deny them beauty.
A natural environment is far more complex than any playing field.
If a child never sees the stars, never has meaningful encounters with other species, never experiences the richness of nature, what happens to that child?
Nature is one of the best antidotes to fear.
Use all of your senses.
By letting our children lead us to their own special places we can rediscover the joy and wonder of nature.
Children who played outside every day, regrdless of weather, had better motor coordination and more ability to concentrate.
In our bones we need the natural curves of hills, the scent of chaparral, the whisper of pines, the possibility of wildness.
From 1997 to 2003, there was a decline of 50 percent in the proportion of children nine to twelve who spent time in such outside activities as hiking, walking, fishing, beach play, and gardening, according to a study by Sandra Hofferth at the University of Maryland.
Natural playgrounds may decrease bullying.
What if more and more parents, grandparents and kids around the country band together to create outdoor adventure clubs, family nature networks, family outdoor clubs, or green gyms? What if this approach becomes the norm in every community?
The future will belong to the nature-smart...
We can conserve energy and tread more lightly on the Earth while we expand our culture's capacity for joy.