Natural Playgrounds May Decrease Bullying.

Passion Is Lifted From The Earth Itself By The Muddy Hands Of The Young; It Travels Along Grass-stained Sleeves To The Heart. If We Are Going To Save Environmentalism And The Environment, We Must Also Save An Endangered Indicator Species: The Child In Nature.

We Attempt To Remember Our Collective American Childhood, The Way It Was, But What We Often Remember Is A Combination Of Real Past, Pieces Reshaped By Bitterness And Love, And, Of Course, The Video Past--the Portrayals Of Family Life On Such Television Programs As "leave It To Beaver" And "father Knows Best" And All The Rest.

Something Else Was Different When We Were Young: Our Parents Were Outdoors. I’m Not Saying They Were Joining Health Clubs And Things Of That Sort, But They Were Out Of The House, Out On The Porch, Talking To Neighbors. As Far As Physical Fitness Goes, Today’s Kids Are The Sorriest Generation In The History Of The United States. Their Parents May Be Out Jogging, But The Kids Just Aren’t Outside.

It's Easy To Blame The Nature-deficit Disorder On The Kids' Or The Parents' Back, But They Also Need The Help Of Urban Planners, Schools, Libraries And Other Community Agents To Find Nature That's Accessible.

From 1997 To 2003, There Was A Decline Of 50 Percent In The Proportion Of Children Nine To Twelve Who Spent Time In Such Outside Activities As Hiking, Walking, Fishing, Beach Play, And Gardening, According To A Study By Sandra Hofferth At The University Of Maryland.