US journalist Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder is a passionate call for our children to spend more time alone in the natural environment in order to make them more confident, independent and active, while at the same time reconnecting them to what has become for many a lost world. Well-meaning parents, he says, are robbing children of this experience through unfounded fears of the ‘dangers’ of letting children play on their own outside. One solution is to green our urban spaces; another is a cultural shift, away from passive leisure pursuits such as watching the TV and towards the type of outdoor pastimes enjoyed by previous generations. An inspirational read for all parents – and town planners too.
further reading…
US journalist Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder is a passionate call for our children to spend more time alone in the natural environment in order to make them more confident, independent and active, while at the same time reconnecting them to what has become for many a lost world. Well-meaning parents, he says, are robbing children of this experience through unfounded fears of the ‘dangers’ of letting children play on their own outside. One solution is to green our urban spaces; another is a cultural shift, away from passive leisure pursuits such as watching the TV and towards the type of outdoor pastimes enjoyed by previous generations. An inspirational read for all parents – and town planners too.