Reflections on growing up connected
to nature:
During the
late 1960s and early 1970s I had the great fortune of growing up in the Santa
Monica Mountains that surround the western side of Los Angeles. My backyard didn't
have a fence line, but rather opened up on to the terrain of the mountains. I
spent so much time outdoors that I have very few memories of recreating and
playing indoors.
In a typical
week my friends and I climbed trees, swam in the Pacific Ocean, hiked, ran and
jumped as we raced from the top of a mountain peak, dug trenches and tunnels, built
forts, and road our bicycles. We engaged in imaginary play, taking on the roles
of heroes and villains, as we explored our natural surroundings.
As we spent
time playing outdoors, we shared our physical space with animals that were
indigenous to the Santa Monica Mountain: birds, rabbits, squirrels, snakes,
insects, deer, and the occasional sighting of a coyote.
What is extraordinary
about this period of time is that we were given the opportunity to negotiate
our relationship to nature and to each other without constant adult
supervision. In fact, I can hardly remember a time when an adult intervened in
our explorations and play. Instead, we were allowed to figure out our relationship
to nature and to each other and, in so doing, we developed a wide variety of
abilities and skills.
What were
the benefits and lessons of growing up connected to nature? We developed
coordination and confidence in our bodies. Given the amount of aerobic exercise
we engaged in, we developed stamina and strength. We were fit and lean and able
to handle bumps, bruises, and cuts.
As would
follow, we developed safety skills. We knew how far to hike, how fast to run, and
where we could ride our bikes. We also developed our conflict resolution
skills, our imagination, and our ability to innovate and improvise. And,
above all, we all developed a respect for and recognition of the importance of nature.
Over the
past quarter-century I have worked with children, teens, and families as an
educator and a mental health professional. Sadly, during this period I have seen
a steady decline in outdoor physical activity and an increasing disconnection
from nature -- especially over the past decade.
There are
many reasons for this unfortunate change, including the expansion of suburbs
into green spaces, parks that are configured to exclude nature, schools that do
not take advantage of nearby natural resources, fear on the part of parents
that play in nature will result in injury and, most of all, the
expansion of home based recreational technology: multiple televisions hooked up to
cable networks with hundreds of channels, handheld devices like the Nintendo
DS, laptop computers, and most recently, smart phones and tablets.
According to
research conducted by the Kaiser Family
Foundation, 8 to 18-year-olds are spending 7.5 hours per day connected to
some form of technology. When switch tasking is included, which simply means
jumping from one form of technology to another, the actual number spent in
front of a screen increases to 10.5 hours per day.
According to
the Mayo Clinic, the consequences of
excessive screen time are pervasive and serious. The American Academy of Pediatrics
recommends limiting the use of TV, movies, video and computer games to no more
than one
or two hours per day. When children spend three or four times this
amount connected to screen, the Mayo
Clinic reports that they are more likely to experience physical and mental health
problems. Excessive screen time has been linked to childhood obesity,
irregular sleep, impaired academic performance, and a wide variety of
behavioral problems.
The Mayo Clinic reports that elementary students who spend more than 2 hours per day in front
of screens are likely to have emotional, social, and attention problems.
Exposure to video games increases the risk of attention problems and children
who watch excessive amounts of TV are more likely to bully children than
children who do not. The Mayo Clinic
also reports that consistent exposure to media violence can desensitize
children to violence. As a result, some children accept violent behavior as a
normal part of resolving conflicts.
Finally, excessive screen time leaves
little time for active, outdoor, creative play.
The research
provided by the Mayo Clinic is
supported by the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) and the National
Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH). For example, according to the CDC, approximately
17%
(or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 are obese
and obesity rates among children and teens have nearly tripled since
1980.
According to
the NIMH attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) now affects 9% of American
children and current studies show that the number of children being diagnosed
with ADHD is increasing each year. Studies measuring the prevalence of autism spectrum
disorder show a dramatic increase each year. Research by the CDC has
established that 1 in 55 children now meet criteria for autism spectrum
disorder.
What can
parents do to reverse this disconnection from nature and prevent the serious
developmental and psychiatric consequences that are linked to excessive screen
time? First, parents need to set a positive example for their children. Parents
need to lead an active lifestyle and make family physical activity a priority.
This includes taking walks together after dinner, doing yard work together, and
making use of public parks and outdoor recreation areas -- including camping.
Parents need
to encourage aerobic and muscle building activities every day by connecting
children to the outdoors. Rather than
view vigorous outdoor activities as a source of danger, parents need to
remember that children are resilient and strong and therefore should be
encouraged to hike, bike, dig, climb trees, and swim. Unfortunately, only 6% of
children ages 9 to 13 play outside on their own. Studies show a dramatic decline
over the past decade in outdoor activities like swimming and fishing and a 31%
decrease in bike riding since 1995.
Parents
should also encourage their children to be active with their peers. Parents
need to make sure that children play outside instead of watching television or
playing video games inside. Parents need to take the time to connect their
children and their friends to activities that occur in nature, such as
organizing a beach day or mountain bike riding.
Parents need
to partner with schools by encouraging the implementation of comprehensive
physical activity programs and by helping organize special events that connect
children to their natural surroundings. Parents need to educate schools that
there are cognitive benefits to physical activity. Studies show that schools
that use outdoor classrooms produce gains in test scores in social studies,
science, language arts, and math. One study by the California Department of
Education established that students in outdoor science programs improve science
testing scores by 27%.
Parents can also
join the Sierra Club, America's largest grassroots environmental organization.
The Sierra Club’s mission is to “enjoy, explore, and protect the planet."
Sierra Club programs seek to expand the conservation movement,organize
grassroots and administrative support for the value of outdoor experiences, and
build alliances and partnerships that protect our natural resources.
As for the immediate future, parents can participate in the Great
Outdoors America Week. Great Outdoors
America Week (GO Week) is
considered the preeminent event celebrating our relationship to the great
outdoors and advocating for its future. As one of the largest annual
conservation and outdoor focused events, GO Week serves the purpose of
increasing awareness of important issues that affect the outdoors by bringing
together a wide array of organizations and activists to meet with lawmakers and
administrators to advocate for our outdoor way-of-life.
It is
important to underscore that the foundation
for all of the above is parents setting clear and firm limits about screen time
use. As noted above, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a maximum of two hours of media time per
day: television, computer, movies and DVDs, and video games. Without firm and
consistent limits, children will opt to stay disconnected from nature and
remain connected to the ever-expanding world of recreational technology.