No Child Left Inside

"In nature, children find strength."~~Maria Montessori


I read about an interesting concept this morning. I think many have heard about the "No Child Left Behind" educational initiative. There is a new one called "No Child Left Inside." And, it is an initiative that I wholeheartedly agree with.

A study was recently conducted that depicted "a high correlation between the drop in national park visits and the increased time spent with TV, home movies, video games, and the Internet."......Patricia Zaradic, one of the study's authors, has discarded her TV and urges other parents to go outdoors with their children. "The kids are going to do what you do," she says. "If you are spending the majority of your time glued to some sort of boob tube, how can you tell them to go outside and play?"......The "No Child Left Inside" idea is part of a larger national discussion among park wardens, government officials, and environmentalists about how to reverse a growing alienation from nature, particularly among youths. Those concerned cite the health of future generations, and the long-term support for conservation efforts by an indoor civilization. "For thousands of years in human history, kids went outside and spent their childhood outdoors, in nature. In the matter of a few decades, we are seeing the disappearance of that kind of play ... and that has enormous implications," says Richard Louv, author of the recent book "Last Child in the Woods." Studies of children, he notes, show that exposure to nature boosts attention spans, reduces stress, and could be an antidote to the rising problem of childhood obesity."

Many children have forgotten the lost art of playing in the dirt, running in the woods, and skipping rocks across the lake (and many adults for that matter). Add to this that many schools are cutting out recess times and no physical education....gee, I wonder why children in the United States are becoming more and more obese?

Living in an RV encourages outdoor activity because there isn't tons of room to lounge around inside. Of course, we've always enjoyed staying at state and national parks even before we had an RV of any kind. And, we've never been the types to do sedentary activities inside all of the time. But, I'm glad to see that others are starting to notice the benefits of outdoor activity and the importance of it. I do hope that while they are encouraging people to enjoy the great outdoors that they are also reinforcing responsible interaction with nature (i.e., don't feed wildlife, don't litter, etc.).

The article went on to recommend the following:

As for other ways to get the next generation into the woods, her mother has a novel idea: "You know what they should do is tell guys [that hiking] is a cheap date. And the girls will think it's romantic.

Ha! And, all this time I thought Jeff was being romantic when he took me camping at Mt Cheaha, AL, when we were college students. And, it was primitive camping (i.e., no bathrooms or running water) too! It appears I was just a cheap date. :-)
Actually, it might have been cheap (and a bit cold) but it was incredibly romantic. I guess some could say since we now live in our RV that we are on a neverending romantic venture.