Nature Deficit Disorder

"As a society, we are raising the first generation of Americans to grow up disconnected from nature," according to the National Wildlife Federation in the United States. It appears we've scheduled unstructured play time outdoors right out of our children's lives.

Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, has coined the phrase "nature deficit disorder" to refer to this growing trend of our kids growing up disconnected from nature. This trend is particularly disturbing, given that it's taking place at a time when what we need most is to be raising stewards of nature and the environment.

Again, according to the NWF: "One of the primary symptoms [of "nature deficit disorder] is the replacement of the green space by the screen space as the occupier of children's free time. A Kaiser Family Foundation study found that the average American child spends 44 hours per week (more than 6 hours a day!) staring at some kind of electronic screen. Studies have linked excessive television viewing to obesity, violence, and even lower intelligence in kids. Now, a growing wave of research indicates that children who spend time outdoors are healthier, overall, than their indoor counterparts."

Children who regularly spend unstructured time outside:

Play more creatively

Have lower stress levels

Have more active imaginations

Become fitter and leaner

Develop stronger immune systems

Experience fewer symptoms of ADD and ADHD

Have greater respect for themselves, for others, and for the environment

So how does Super Natural Adventures, a web-based program, fit into this? We're going to where kids are--on the internet. And then hoping to inspire by them--by example--to get outside and explore their world. Afterwards, kids get to share their experiences with other kids around the world using the incredible technology of our time--the internet--in a way that is beneficial, educational, world-expanding and human-connecting, which I believe is the best and highest use of such technology.