Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder | Richard Louv

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder | Richard Louv | My Mission in Life

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Last Child in the ...

	Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder Richard Louv Algonquin Books, 2008 - 390 pages average customer review:based on 80 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Adventure Rabbi says

Whenever someone does not understand what we do at the Adventure Rabbi program, I ask them to read this book! As Louv teaches, (an echo of Rabbi Ben Maimonides) outdoor time is essential for the spiritual development of even the holiest of people.

- Rabbi Jamie Korngold, the Adventure Rabbi, author God in the Wilderness: Rediscovering the Spirituality of the Great Outdoors with the Adventure Rabbi

My Mission in Life

I am a naturalist and have seen the effects that little to no exposure to the out-of-doors is having on children. I would put this book right next to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring for its eye-opening subject. It does not take a crazest environmentalist to enjoy this book and feel like they can make a difference. I have seen many of the negative examples found in the book in action and work on a daily basis to provide opportunities for kids to get outside. After reading the book, it only made my job all the more important. I find it hard to imagine a person who would not be affected by reading the book.

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Last Child in the Woods

Last Child in the Woods provides an essential argument for parents, educators, and adults who have been influenced by nature deficit disorder. This book outlines the harm our society faces due to a lack of exposure and appreciation for our outside world. As we continue to place utmost importance on technology our children are being deprived of a childhood spent outdoors, even in their own backyard. Our society has made parents fearful of allowing children to play in their own backyards and parks without complete supervision, which is often not possible due to busy schedules. This fear is depriving our countries' children the opportunity to discover and explore the world around them, use imagination turning sticks into swords and flowers into crowns, and build a strong self-esteem by problem-solving. The final and most important argument this book makes is that if our children do appreciate the world they live in, they will have no reason to fight to save it in the next 50 years. The issues are world faces will become the responsibiltiy of today's children and their children and if they don't have a reason to fight for it, who will?

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Definite pass along book

The author is passionate on his subject and the passion is infectious. He interviews authors who have done research in the area: viewing greenspace helps you recover from injury, unstructured outdoor play helps children's concentration and impulse control and so on. I was inspired by his many helpful suggestions for family activities and by his descriptions of locally focused environmental education. He also provides many useful outside readings and links to like-minded organizations. You will find this book very useful!

A little too pessimistic and a bit too incomplete

True, today's computer use by kids has in too many cases divorced them from the real benefits of being outdoors and understanding the need to interact with Nature in all its various forms.

However, the author errs when he puts forth the premise that todays activists are interfering with the kids' rights to interact with nature - NOT SO!!! Hunting and fishing will ALWAYS be with us -- and RESPONSIBLE hunting and fishing should be the core of every sportspersons' agenda. Not everyone wants to hunt and fish -- so those who just enjoy hiking and camping should be aware of and follow the rules and responsibilities of careful stewardship of the earth (bring your trash OUT of the wilderness with you-- be extra careful with camp fires, etc etc)

Not one word of his book mentions Humane Education, or the GREAT work that Humane Educators, especially the Institute for Humane Education -- are doing to re-acquaint children with the ecology (animal vegetable and mineral) that surrounds them and their responsibility toward this ecology that is EVERY individual's birthright. I would HOPE that the next revision of this book WILL discuss the great contributions of these Humane educators and organizations.

Neither does the author mention the efforts on the part of major religious organizations to make their members aware of the need to respect, preserve and maintain God's gifts of flora and fauna and verything that makes up this big beautiful earth.

Growing up in the Big City -- as a child, I visited the MANY FREE places open to kids of all ages in New York City -- namely the zoos and botanical gardens that are still there today. These organizations appeal to children and have programs specifically aimed at all children, and ARE visited on a daily basis by children who attend the local schools.

All is NOT lost -- computer can never supplant the "real Thing" -- but many children still need to acquaint themselves with Mother Earth and their responsible relationship to her. With some improvements, this book can help re-acquaint all of us to the beauty of nature and the need to preserve it (without bashing any of the groups out there who have their own specific philosophies about other living beings) and can act as a beneficial guide to parents and children alike.

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