So it has come to this, we now have to schedule time for our children to get exposed to nature! The term for this outdoor time has been coined “The Green Hour” by the National Wildlife Federation (“NWF”). The “Green Hour” is defined as: “a time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world.” There is even a “greenhour” blog that can also be found at the same web site.
Don’t get me wrong I love this idea. I just wish we, as parents, did not have to be told to get our kids outside to play and especially to enjoy UNSTRUCTURED time! Today our kids only seem to be outside for some type of organized activity, usually sports related.
Do any of you remember the hours spent outside playing with neighbors, building forts, constructing fairy houses, roller skating or riding bikes up and down the block? Most kids today just don’t get those chances and may not even know what to do outside if they are not told!
Recently the book, “Last Child in the Woods” brought us parents something new to worry about: “nature deficit disorder”. Richard Louv, the author, has spawned a widespread movement across the country to get kids back in touch with the outdoors. The research promoting the benefits of children’s exposure to the outdoors is astonishing:“Children who regularly spend unstructured time outside:
*Play more creatively
*Have lower levels of stress
*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.” (From the Green Hour site.)
A recent related movement: “Leave No Child Inside” is closely related to Richard Louv’s book. Leave No Child Inside campaigns have been started by various State and Regional agencies (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area, St. Louis, Connecticut, Florida, Colorado and Texas are just a few). A clever play on words, (think “No Child Left Behind”), this movements‘ main goal is simply to get kids outside to play, play, and play. (Read more at Orion Magazine.)
By now we all know verbatim the articles about our overscheduled, under-exercised children. What I don’t think many parents realize are the actual benefits of what unstructured outdoor time provides.
Those of us in the Northwest are all too familiar with the long grey wet winters. We as parents will need to try extra hard to get our kids outside for their GREEN HOUR. But since we now know the benefits it will be easier to do.
Other web sites to check out are:
Children and Nature Network
Hooked on Nature and
Fairy Houses. More...