Here’s a nice television clip from CBS and wjz.com about Nature-Deficit Disorder (a term coined by Richard Louv of Last Child in the Woods and the Children & Nature Network). My favorite part is when TV anchor Don Shelby asks kids what “nature” means to them. You can either watch the clip (after a brief but nonetheless annoying advertisement) or just read the transcript. I’ve blogged about Louv before, so if you’re new and you want more, use “Louv” in a keyword search in the column to the right to pull up all relevant posts.
You can watch more news clips and get lots more great information about children and nature on the C&NN website.
And here are two more good related articles that I’ve come across recently:
“Research Shows a Walk in the Park Improves Attention in Children with ADHD,” by Frances E. Kuo and Andrea Faber Taylor, 2008. Click HERE to read the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign press release.
Amount of green space and childhood obesity:
“Neighborhood Greenness and 2-Year Changes in Body Mass Index of Children and Youth,” by Jeffrey Wilson and Gilbert Liu, 2008, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Vol. 35 No. 6.
Summary by Research Design Connections: “The amount of green space near their homes is related to the weights of inner city children. Children living in inner city neighborhoods with more green space (as determined from analysis of satellite photographs) have significantly lower body mass index changes as they grow taller than children living in areas with smaller amounts of green space.”
Many thanks to Heather for the photo of her beautiful daughter!