The Children and Nature Network is helping to celebrate April as "Children & Nature Awareness Month."

A growing network of individuals, organizations and agencies are helping to spread the word about the importance of providing opportunities for all children to experience frequent, regular play and exploration in natural outdoor settings.

Children today are far less likely than past generations to spend time playing outside, and a growing body of research says children are paying a high price for that lack. Childhood obesity, inattentiveness, diminished creativity and depression are just a few of the problems linked to what author Richard Louv has dubbed "nature deficit disorder" in his best-selling book Last Child in the Woods.

“Getting kids outdoors more, riding bikes, running, swimming—and, especially, experiencing nature directly—could serve as an antidote to much of what ails the young.” says Louv. This month, a new edition of Last Child in the Woods is being released, now with an added Field Guide offering 100 Actions that families and communities can take.

C&NN President Cheryl Charles says, "We’ve an opportunity and a responsibility to right the balance in children’s everyday lives. Children who play outdoors in natural areas on a regular basis are happier, healthier, smarter, more cooperative and more self-confident. This issue is touching a chord of common sense and a movement to reconnect children and nature is burgeoning worldwide."

In fact, a shift already has begun. Since C&NN was established early in 2006, children and nature initiatives have emerged from coast to coast and continent to continent.

“There is much more to be done to achieve this healthy change in children’s daily lives," says Charles, "and Children & Nature Awareness Month is an important way to build momentum for this movement that is so critical to the health and well-being of our children and their future."

For more information, visit the Children and Nature Network website.

Link: No Child Left Inside

3/28/2008