Four words that today’s children will almost never hear are: “Go outside and play.” For children born after 1980, their play worlds are constrained and contained with little direct experience of the natural world.
In fact many of today’s kids can tell you all about the Amazon Rainforest because of a school project they did on it. They however are unable to articulate their own experiences with an Alberta forest or the weed lot down the street or poking a stick in a pond.
Kids today want to play indoors because that is where the screens are and screens tend to dominate our lives. In fact my eleven year old daughter just yesterday said “dad, we’re becoming one of those families.” When I queried what she meant, she pointed out that her and her sister were on their iPods, I was on my laptop, and my wife was on her iPad. Sigh.
It’s a sad day when screens have become so dominant and the research indicating how kid’s brains are being rewired as a result of this is intensely frightening. Is it time for us parents to allow kids to just be kids. Thomas Berry said that teaching children about the natural world should be treated as one of the most important events in their lives.
With summer coming and no school, so many kids will increase their screen time exponentially. Could this summer be different for your kids or grandkids?
So many parents are fearful of the outdoors. We want to shelter our kids from bugs, spiders and frogs. But this disconnect from nature has produced all sorts of consequences such as lack of creativity, ignorance of nature, childhood obesity, depression and loss of community.
Is it time to consider sending your child to summer camp for a week to help them overcome this disconnect from nature? Overall camp attendance in North America is in decline as parents choose other options for summer plans.
Getting your kids out in nature presents lots of benefits to them. Being in creation reminds them that a Creator exists. Getting out in nature will remind your kids that God loves variety. The Psalmist marvelled “O God what a variety you have made. You made them all.” (Psalm 104:24 Living Bible). Let your kid bend over and peer into the intricacies of a beetle. There are over 300,000 varieties of beetles which led biologist JB Haldane to say, “God must have an inordinate fondness for beetles.”
Richard Louv who coined the phrase that I used in the title of this article, says; “Healing the broken bond between our young and nature is in our self interest, not only because aesthetics or justice demand it, but also because our mental, physical, and spiritual health depends on it. The health of the earth is at stake.” May this be a summer where your kids get outside!
Pastor Rick Bayer hangs out at Camp Chestermere. He can be reached at campdirector@campchestermere.com
