There Is Another Possibility: Not The End

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.

We Are Telling Our Kids That Nature Is In The Past And It Probably Doesn't Count Anymore, The Future Is In Electronics, The Boogeyman Is In The Woods, And Playing Outdoors Is Probably Illicit And Possibly Illegal.

The Centers For Disease Control (cdc) Reports That The Number Of Overweight Adult Americans Increased Over 60 Percent Between 1991 And 2000. According To Cdc Data, The U.s. Population Of Overweight Children Between Ages Two And Five Increased By Almost 36 Percent From 1989 To 1999.

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.

Now, My Tree-climbing Days Long Behind Me, I Often Think About The Lasting Value Of Those Early, Deliciously Idle Days. I Have Come To Appreciate The Long View Afforded By Those Treetops. The Woods Were My Ritalin. Nature Calmed Me, Focused Me, And Yet Excited My Senses.