Nature-Deficit Disorder

"Being close to nature, in general, helps boost a child's attention span." (Louv 7)


I agree with this statement completely. I was always the child who loved being outside and being active, even today I much rather be outside having hands on experiences than sitting in a classroom where I am constantly not paying attention. I think a lot of kids have this mentality as well and having outdoors activities definitely helps to get kids to pay better attention, because they are taking part in something and not even realizing all the knowledge they are learning form it. This is the best way I believe to learn, actually doing something helps me to focus and grasp concepts much easier than having a teacher talk for an hour or so; being active stimulates your mind and gets you to pay attention to the world around you.

Getting back to nature.

Photos by: Lakshmi Singh

"Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle maintains that each hour of TV watched per day by preschoolers increases by 10 percent the likelihood that they will develop concentration problems and other symptoms of attention-deficit disorders by age seven." (Louv 4)

I really dislike how so many parents just put their children in front of the TV for hours instead of being active with them. I love kids and every time I am babysitting I make sure to spend a lot of time doing outdoor activities with them. Many of these kids seem extremely hyper and their parents constantly complain, but I have found that after taking these same kids outside where they can run and play and are not just in the house staring at a TV all day; turn into really calm kids. The parents are always amazed when they come back and see how calm and well-behaved their child is and I just tell them that I let their child enjoy the outdoors where they roamed around and explored; they enjoyed it and it made them happy. 

Nature is your playground.

Photos by: Gregory Wrona

"Getting kids out in nature can make a difference." (Louv 5)

There are so many people in this world who have never really experienced nature based on where they live, especially kids. Yes, I know there are many parks and backyards to play in but I mean the true nature experience like being in the Everglades or anything that really makes you open your eyes to the environment around you. I think this aspect is very crucial to someone's experience; like for me I thought I experienced the outdoors and then I came to FGCU and was amazed at all the environmental things I was never really exposed too back home. Experiencing something for yourself definitely opens your eyes and really helps you learn about the environment around you; there is still so much to see. 

Nature is  absolutely beautiful.

Photos by: Doug Perrine