Last Child in the Woods

Zusammenfassung The Book That Launched an International Movement An absolute must-read for parents. The Boston Globe It rivals Rachel Carson's Silent Spring . The Cincinnati Enquirer 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 attention deficit 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 deeplyand find the joy of family connectedness in the process. Now includes A Field Guide with 100 Practical Actions We Can Take Discussion Points for Book Groups! Classrooms! and Communities Additional Notes by the Author New and Updated Research from the U.S. and Abroad Richard Louv's new book! Our Wild Calling ! is available now. Informationen zum Autor Richard Louv is a journalist and the author of ten books! including Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder! The Nature Principle ! and Vitamin N. Translated into twenty languages! his books have helped launch an international movement to connect children! families! and communities to nature. He is cofounder and chair emeritus of the nonprofit Children & Nature Network! which supports a new nature movement. Louv has written for the New York Times! Outside magazine ! Orion Magazine! Parents! and many other publications. He appears regularly on national radio and TV! and lectures throughout the world. In 2008! he was awarded the Audubon Medal. Prior recipients have included Rachel Carson! E. O. Wilson! President Jimmy Carter! and Sir David Attenborough. Klappentext Louv talks with parents! children! teachers! scientists! religious leaders! child-development researchers! and environmentalists to find ways for children to experience the natural world more deeply. Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Part I : The New Relationship Between Children and Nature 1. Gifts of Nature . . . . 7 2. The Third Frontier . . . . . . 15 3. The Criminalization of Natural Play . . . . . 27 Part II:Why the Young (and the Rest of Us) Need Nature 4. Climbing the Tree of Health . .. 39 5. A Life of the Senses: Nature vs. the Know-It-All State of Mind . . . . . 54 6. The Eighth Intelligence . . . 70 7. The Genius of Childhood: How Nature Nurtures Creativity . . .. 85 8. Nature-Deficit Disorder and the Restorative Environment . . . 98 Part II...

Auteur
Richard Louv is a journalist and the author of ten books, including Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, The Nature Principle, and Vitamin N. Translated into twenty languages, his books have helped launch an international movement to connect children, families, and communities to nature. He is cofounder and chair emeritus of the nonprofit Children & Nature Network, which supports a new nature movement. Louv has written for the New York Times, Outside magazine, Orion Magazine, Parents, and many other publications. He appears regularly on national radio and TV, and lectures throughout the world. In 2008, he was awarded the Audubon Medal. Prior recipients have included Rachel Carson, E. O. Wilson, President Jimmy Carter, and Sir David Attenborough.

Texte du rabat

In his groundbreaking work about the staggering divide between children and the outdoors, journalist and child advocate Richard Louv directly links the absence of nature in the lives of today's wired generatoin to some of the most disturbing childhood trends: the rise in obesity, attention disorders, and depression. This is the first book to bring together a body of research indicating that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional helath of children and adults. More than just raising an alarm, Louv offers practical solutions to heal the broken bond.

Résumé
The Book That Launched an International Movement
 
Fans of The Anxious Generatio*n will adore Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv's groundbreaking *New York Times bestseller. “An absolute must-read for parents.” —The Boston Globe
 
“It rivals Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.” —The Cincinnati Enquirer
 
“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 attention deficit 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.
  Included in this edition:

• A Field Guide with 100 Practical Actions We Can Take 
• Discussion Points for Book Groups, Classrooms, and Communities 
• Additional Notes by the Author 
• New and Updated Research from the U.S. and Abroad
     

Échantillon de lecture
INTRODUCTION

One evening when my boys were younger, Matthew, then ten, looked at me from across a restaurant table and said quite seriously, “Dad, how come it was more fun when you were a kid?”

I asked what he meant.

“Well, you’re always talking about your woods and tree houses, and how you used to ride that horse down near the swamp.”

At first, I thought he was irritated with me. I had, in fact, been telling him what it was like to use string and pieces of liver to catch crawdads in a creek, something I’d be hard-press…