Health News
National | Resource
ScienceDaily – May 05, 2008
Why Do Child-Care Centers Keep Kids Inside?
A new study of outdoor play at child-care centers has identified some surprising reasons for keeping children inside, among them teachers’ reluctance to bundle and unbundle children on cold days, and parents who don’t want their children getting injured or dirty. The researchers, citing the benefits of outdoor activity, hope their findings help reduce the barriers currently preventing more children from playing outside. [+]
Commentary
San Jose Mercury News – February 15, 2008
Silicon Valley, Turn Off Your Computers and Go Outside
By Vindu Goel
Faced with a proposal by Gov. Schwarzenegger to close 48 California state parks, a San Jose columnist encourages his fellow Silicon Valley constituents to make their presence felt by turning off their computers and venturing outdoors. “If we value our parks, we have to prove it to the politicians—and ourselves.”
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Commentary
National Public Radio – February 21, 2008
NPR: The Importance of Old-Fashioned Play
By Alix Spiegel
National Public Radio’s Alix Spiegel reports on how childhood recreation has changed over the past 50 years, from improvised play that often took place outdoors to structured play that often requires specific toys and follows a predetermined script. Spiegel also explores the many adverse effects these changes have had on children’s cognitive and emotional development.
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Commentary
Green Living Online – January 15, 2008
Combatting Nature-Deficit Disorder in Winter
By Joyce Nelson
One reason children spend less time outdoors during the winter is the fear of catching cold and getting sick. As Green Living Online points out, however, it’s not necessarily winter weather that brings on the flu but time spent indoors without the benefit of fresh air. The website encourages parents to turn off the TV and take their children outside.
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Allies | Leadership
Grist – December 18, 2007
REI Chief Bemoans Overscheduled Kids
By Sarah Van Schagen
Sally Jewell, the head of outdoor-equipment retailer REI, says in a recent interview that children spend far too much of their time in front of computer or television screens. She credits Richard Louv with putting into words her concerns about young people today. The challenge, she says, is getting technology and nature to work together for their benefit.
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International
Sunday Herald – December 02, 2007
Children in Scotland Not So Different from Their US Counterparts
By Kate Smith
Scottish society, like ours, has become more urbanized and sedentary, and encouraging children to explore nature and the outdoors, according to journalist Kate Smith, will be necessary if the Scottish want to assure that their young are “happier, healthier, and more savvy.”
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Research & Studies | Resource
Newsweek News – November 27, 2007
Got Nature? Researchers Find Strong Bones Require More than Milk Alone
By Lauran Neergaard
Researchers report that our sedentary lifestyle is largely to blame for another disturbing trend: the incidence of rickets in children appears to be on the rise. Possibly millions of seemingly healthy children are suffering from the condition. Researches blame an increase of time spent indoors, noting that exercise and sunlight are as important as calcium to building strong bones.
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National
Children & Nature get front page coverage in USA Weekend Magazine.
Mother Nature: Raising healthier kids. Getting your kids back in touch with the great outdoors can improve their health and well-being. Recess, soccer practice, the neighborhood playground -- all are great avenues for getting our kids up and out. But when it comes to their mental as well as physical well-being, children need something else, something elemental: They need nature. [+]
Commentary
Deseret News – October 13, 2007
Today’s young people are wired and worried
By Joseph Cramer, M.D.
In today's childhood there is an overabundance of stimulation and a shortage of soothers. Meet Generation W — "w" for wired and worried. In this whirlwind of wires and wireless, author Joseph Cramer, M.D. offers four steps to wind down the worried.
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Allies | Resource
Miracle-Gro – April 09, 2008
Corporate Survey Looks at Benefits of Outdoor Time
The Miracle-Gro company is touting the results of a survey it conducted showing that while 84 percent of parents feel it’s important for young people to spend time outdoors, most admit that their children spend less time outdoors than they did as children. “By spending less time outdoors,” the company says, “people are endangering their connection with nature and depriving themselves of the health benefits of being outside and being active.” [+]
Commentary
Asheville Citizen-Times – March 10, 2008
A Reminder of Summer Camp’s Value
By Lockie Hunter
With children spending more and more time in front of computers and TV screens, the value of summer camp is perhaps greater than ever before. In addition to the opportunity it provides for children to explore nature and learn outdoors skills, it also helps them develop social skills and gain a new sense of independence.
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Research & Studies
Philadelphia Inquirer – February 25, 2008
Philadelphia Inquirer Looks at Declining Interest in Outdoors
By Sandy Bauers
The release of a study documenting a startling decline in the popularity of outdoor activities has prompted a number of news organizations to look at the relationship children today have with nature. The Philadelphia Inquirer explores the subject with one of the study’s authors and several local nature-based organizations.
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Local
The Daily Green – February 08, 2008
Good Government Helps Create Nation’s “Fittest City”
By Dan Shapley
When Men’s Fitness magazine named Colorado Springs “the fittest city in the country,” some attributed the designation, at least in part, to a key open-spaces tax and years of savvy planning. In the words of one observer, “Setting development rules, or setting aside cash, to make walkable communities keeps people on their feet (if there’s a sidewalk to the corner store or the elementary school, you’re more apt to use it).”
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Research & Studies
Toronto Star – February 09, 2008
Canadian Report Advocates Less Homework, More Play
By Kristin Rushowy
A study of homework conducted by two Toronto professors indicates that too much of it may be detrimental to students, especially younger ones. More important, supporters of the study say, are family time and time for exercise and unstructured play. The recommended amount of homework for children? Ten minutes per night per grade.
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Commentary
Concord Monitor – January 13, 2008
On the Edge: Applying Angler Wisdom to Communities
By John Corrigan
Is there something that communities, and city planners in particular, can learn from fishermen and observing fish? Columnist John Corrigan thinks so, and the lesson has to do with appreciating the edges of things, the transition zones. Corrigan was prompted to make this connection after attending the recent Leave No Child Inside Forum in Concord, New Hampshire.
C&NN has designated April "Children & Nature Awareness Month." As part of this effort, we invited network members (like you) to list their April programs and share their strategies for building public awareness. Find out what's happening in your community on the C&NN Movement Map.
As part of our ongoing efforts to build the movement, the Children & Nature Network has published two new resources for leaders, organizers, and participants at the local, national, and international levels:
An annotated bibliography of 20 premier studies focusing on the children and nature connection.
