Nature Deficit Disorder
There are so many disorders and ailments you can suffer from today, and just recently a new one was added to the list. Journalist Richard Louv penned the book Last Child in the Woods, which discusses Nature Deficit Disorder. This is a disorder commonly seen in children today, who are often only outside when they are participating in structered activities. This is not a clinically diagnosed disorder, but Louv did do extensive amounts of research to explain his hypothesis: T.V. and video games have made kids live "shut-in" lives, and the media and even parents have "scared children straight out of the woods and fields" (weren't you always taught the boogeyman lived in the wood?).
Louv suggests that if children participated in more creative "nature-play", they could grow into focused, problem-solving adults. More time outside may also help children who suffer from ADD, and in general helps kids live more physical, spiritual, and mentally enhanced lives. And with the economic times like they are, it may be just the right time to throw out the Wii and head outside.
