Growing up Smart
Posted on 16. Feb, 2012 by Chad Bostick in Health & Wellness, Kids, Outdoor Activities & Festivals
With the series at the Huntsville Botanical Garden, “Seeds to Sprouts”, the garden is helping to fill a gap that is large, and continuing to get larger with our children and nature. Richard Louv coined the term Nature Deficit Disorder, and has extensively researched children, and their exposure to nature, and the lack thereof in his book Last Child in the Woods; Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. Even just a little exposure to the natural world, our children will become better, well rounded and healthier adults.
What is a turtle’s shell made of?
Did you know that “Today’s children may be the first generation of Americans since World War II to die at an earlier age than their parents” (47). Childhood obesity is just one of the problems due to nature deficit disorder. The Centers for Diease Control directly correlates the amount of TV watched to the measure of body fat. A child born today when they turn 30 will have spent 10 years of their life in front of some virtual media. That is a decade of watching life rather than living it. Yet this problem is accompanied by the greatest increase in organized children’s sports in history showing that sports in general may not be enough to combat obesity. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a policy statement called “Prevention of Overweight and Obesity” that recommends that pediatricians “routinely promote physical activity, including unstructured play at home, in schools, in child care facilities and throughout the community.” In addition this statement advises limiting screen time (TV, video and non-academic computer time) to less than 2 hours a day.
Children exposed to nature, and nature based curriculums have been shown to score 30% higher on standardized test vs. children who are in a traditional learning environment only. Children only spend 5% of their lifetime inside of a classroom so it makes sense that they learn about science, engineering, and architecture through exposure to nature and other activities.
Stopping to Smell the Flowers
Children need to be outside, and I can think of few better places than the Huntsville Botanical Garden to have the opportunity to learn and explore. With the garden’s various themed gardens, and the wonderful habitats created such as the butterfly house, the garden has numerous areas to be involved, and learn about nature. Research indicates that children exposed to nature have all five of their senses engaged, allowing them to pay more attention, as opposed to electronic stimulus that only engages two of our senses. Nature may have the ability to help to calm children with ADD or ADHD as television has been linked to these disorders. Health disparities like race, gender, poverty, disability and family structure have less stressful impact on a child’s life if there are safe and accessible places for children to play and use their wonderful imaginations.
Two more AAP policy statements that relate to the importance of nature are “The Built Environment: Designing Communities to Promote Physical Activity in Children” and “Creating Healthy Camp Experiences” discuss the importance of safe, unstructured play.
These experiences have been proven to have lasting effects on psychosocial development including self-esteem, independence, leadership, values, and willingness to try new things. If we stress a connection to the natural environment we can lessen the lifelong effects of a stressful childhood including depression, obesity, behavior problems, drug use and risk-taking behavior.
Do More
If you would like your child to experience these healing aspects of nature, here’s how to get started:
- Go to the Seeds to Sprouts events at the Huntsville Botanical Garden
- Friday, 2/24/12 at 10am
- Friday, 3/9/12 at 10am
- Friday, 3/23/12 at 10am
- Read the book Last Child in the Woods Saving our children from Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv.
- Check out these links:
About Chad Bostick
Chad Bostick, PLA, ASLA is an award winning registered Landscape Architect and founder of Bostick Landscape Architects, a Professional Design Firm. He is a North Alabama native and has developed an extensive knowledge of managing and implementing Landscape design projects of varying scales throughout the south. After graduating from Mississippi State University in 1998, Chad worked at the Huntsville Madison County Botanical Garden gaining hands-on experience before moving to a nationally recognized landscape architecture firm. Since moving back to Huntsville, his designs have included learning landscapes for the majority of new school construction throughout the Valley as well as developing plans and gardens for residential clients providing unique, inventive and site specific design solutions. Several of Chad's landscape designs have been honored with City of Huntsville Beautification Awards.
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Frank C. Hawkins
17. Feb, 2012
Great article, Chad! As a father, “nature deficit” is one of those topics that’s always on my mind. Organized sports aside, the challenge is to get our children regularly engaged in outdoor activity. That’s why it is so great to hear that you’re working to improve our public spaces and schools. Keep it up!