Research Suggests That Exposure To The Natural

Now, More Than Ever, We Need Nature As A Balancing Agent.

Today's Children Are Living A Childhood Of Firsts. They Are The First Daycare Generation; The First Truly Multicultural Generation; The First Generation To Grow Up In The Electronic Bubble, The Environment Defined By Computers And New Forms Of Television; The First Post-sexual Revolution Generation; The First Generation For Which Nature Is More Abstraction Than Reality; The First Generation To Grow Up In New Kinds Of Dispersed, Deconcentrated Cities, Not Quite Urban, Rural, Or Suburban.

As A Species, We Are Most Animated When Our Days And Nights On Earth Are Touched By The Natural World. We Can Find Immeasurable Joy In The Birth Of A Child, A Great Work Of Art, Or Falling In Love.

Leave Part Of The Yard Rough. Don't Manicure Everything. Small Children In Particular Love To Turn Over Rocks And Find Bugs, And Give Them Some Space To Do That. Take Your Child Fishing. Take Your Child On Hikes.

The Physical Exercise And Emotional Stretching That Children Enjoy In Unorganized Play Is More Varied And Less Time-bound Than Is Found In Organized Sports. Playtime—especially Unstructured, Imaginative, Exploratory Play—is Increasingly Recognized As An Essential Component Of Wholesome Child Development.