Kids playing out in the snow at Edwin B. Forsyth NWR after turning in a "Prescription for Outdoor Activity"
What if every child had a chance to get outdoors and explore nature? What if parents, teachers and community leaders could enlist health-care professionals to lead the way?
Kids growing up today spend more time in front of a television, video game or computer screen than romping around outside. Many do not have access to a backyard, their streets are not safe enough to play in or the lure of the latest video game, webpage or television show overshadows the world outside. Parents, facing increasing stress themselves, often retreat to the world indoors as well.
But simultaneously, chronic conditions such as childhood obesity, asthma, attention-deficit disorder and vitamin D deficiency are increasing.
So how can we restore the family connection to nature? The National Environmental Education Foundation’s Children and Nature Initiative has a unique approach. It empowers health care professionals to carry messages about the importance of time outdoors to parents and patients. The Initiative educates pediatric health care providers to “prescribe” outdoor time for children and links this advice to nature programming on public lands that will help inspire a habit of connecting with nature to promote good health, enjoyment and environmental stewardship.
More than just tell families to get outside, NEEF provides trained health care providers with carefully designed prescription pads and patient brochures that tell families where to go and what to do when they get there, especially helpful for those families who have not been outdoors often. Currently 10 National Wildlife Refuges near urban areas are partners in the program, providing active nature programming and prizes to children who bring in a prescription. Fish and Wildlife employees work directly with health care providers to get children and families out to National Wildlife Refuges.
This program has the potential to improve the health and well-being of millions of children. To learn more about the Children and Nature Initiative and become involved, please visit http://www.neefusa.org/health/children_nature.htm.
1 Comment in this post »
RSS feed for comments on this post. | TrackBack URL
I think this is a FANTASTIC step forward. I like you spent most my waking hours as a child, pre-teen and teenager outdoors. No matter if it was in the backyard, riding my bike or up in the mountains at the state park with my family. I have 4 children still at home and can not get across to them the importance of going outside and just exploring. They would rather be inside watching TV ( of which we have put restrictions on ), playing video games ( more restrictions ) and computer time ( other than school work ). They look at me after being outside for a half hour and say “I’m Bored”. Of course our children tend to listen more to others than their own parents as we are “Old” and don’t know anything, but I have noticed they do tend to listen when the doctor tells them something.
I think if our health care professionals would take a more aggressive approach in getting kids outside, working with Refuges and other parks and Rec places it would go much further than us “Old” people telling them they should be outside. Nothing beats HotWheels in the dirt creating cities and those cities being attacked by aliens till the streetlights come on.