Fighting Against Nature-Deficit Disorder in Our Children By Jerry A. Chenault, Urban Regional Extension Agent, Lawrence County

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that children spend a lot of time indoors and lead sedentary lifestyles that have serious ramifications. But what can be done to reverse this alarming trend for our future generation?

The No Child Left Behind legislation has resulted in "no child playing outside." In an effort to increase academic performance and knowledge, many schools have eliminated recess, cut physical education classes, and replaced this time with wheelbarrows full of homework. When schools cut recess, they also cut the amount of time children have to play outdoors. While children score higher on standardized tests, they are more inclined to be less creative, less likely to appreciate or know anything about our environment; and more prone to be diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obesity, and/or juvenile diabetes. The irony is that while they may be able to tell us something about tropical rainforests, they are less likely to know what trees, plants, or animals thrive in their own backyard.

What can we do to change this scenario? First, we must examine our lifestyles and what is really important in our lives. The force behind spending hours in indoor classrooms and doing homework is basically economics, or the pursuit of more money from a higher-educated population. If we want to change this situation, then we must let our government leaders know what we want for our families. We must also make sure we provide at-home motivation and opportunities for outdoor nature-based activities.

The games earlier generations played outdoors provided opportunities for unstructured free play with minimum equipment and maximum creativity and physical activity. These games included tag, frisbee, hop-scotch, red light/green light, kick the can, capture the flag, farmer's in his den, jump rope, hide & seek, hit the stick, and red rover. Of course, walking, running, and playing in the woods or fields were great too. Just combine kids and nature and watch the magic begin.

It's not too late to change our current course, but it will take a lot of people to do it. Otherwise we can expect to remain powerless as schools add more and more homework and reduce the time kids have to play outdoors. The price we pay could be our children's health.

For a listing of outdoor games to play, visit www.playgroundfun.org.uk.

References
Culture Online. (2005). Favourite games. Retrieved July 21, 2008.

Games Kids Play. (January 28, 2007). Kid games. Retrieved July 21, 2008.

Louv, Richard. (2006). Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. North Carolina: Algonquin Books.

Streetplay.com. (2008). The games: An introduction to our core values. Retrieved July 21, 2008.

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