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 Last Child in the Woods : Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
Richard Louv
Algonquin Books, April 15, 2005
Common Good Review:
In Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, Richard Louv explores and discusses the divide that exists between today’s youth and the natural world that surrounds them. He notes that not only are parents teaching their children to be wary of the outdoors, but that their schools and governmental and neighborhood institutions are as well. The adverse effects of nature deprivation can be seen in increased incidences of childhood illness, such as depression, obesity, and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Louv calls for a reconnection between children and nature, believing that it will reverse some of these negative trends.
Sources of this children/nature divide, Louv notes, are increasing regulations and fear of litigation that ruin “unstructured outdoor nature play” and instill in our children the notion that such play is not allowed. When three brothers are forced to tear down the tree house that they spent eight months building because they had no building permit, it is not surprising that more children are spending their time indoors (29). According to some community associations, even having skateboard ramps at the foot of driveways violates contracts families made when purchasing their homes (28).
Legal fear is also affecting scouting organizations, to the point where these organizations feel that preserving a connection with nature may not be worth the potential costs. “Today, if a parent sends a kid to you without a scratch, they better come back that way.” (152) At one point, returning home with a scratch seemed essential to a child’s camping experience, but now it merely serves as another reason to raise insurance premiums.
Even though Louv does criticize our society for separating its children from nature, he ends his book by acknowledging that some strides have been made in the right direction:
"We also see a growing interest in lightening our litigious load by reforming our legal system. Although tort reform is controversial, and its interpretation in the eye of the lawyer, legal reforms must begin to ease the fear of lawsuit felt by so many families." (305)
Common Good strongly supports this view. We recommend this book as a useful illustration of the harmful effects that legal fear has on today’s society.
Full Description:
“I like to play indoors better ’cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are,” reports a fourth grader. But it’s not only computers, television, and video games that are keeping kids inside. It’s also their parents’ fears of traffic, strangers, Lyme disease, and West Nile virus; their schools’ emphasis on more and more homework; their structured schedules; and their lack of access to natural areas. Local governments, neighborhood associations, and even organizations devoted to the outdoors are placing legal and regulatory constraints on many wild spaces, sometimes making natural play a crime.
As children’s connections to nature diminish and the social, psychological, and spiritual implications become apparent, new research shows that nature can offer powerful therapy for such maladies as depression, obesity, and attentiondeficit disorder. Environment-based education dramatically improves standardized test scores and grade-point averages and develops skills in problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making. Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that childhood experiences in nature stimulate creativity.
In Last Child in the Woods, Louv talks with parents, children, teachers, scientists, religious leaders, child-development researchers, and environmentalists who recognize the threat and offer solutions. Louv shows us an alternative future, one in which parents help their kids experience the natural world more deeply—and find the joy of family connectedness in the process.
When you buy Last Child in the Woods Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder using the above link, a portion of the profits will go to support Common Good.
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