Richard Louv Nature Limiting Disorder

In our ever evolving globalised society, the role of nature and the outdoors has significantly changed, particularly for the younger generations. It has been observed by many that there is a trend of decreased time spent in the outdoors, with an increase in indoor technology based activities within the youth of today. This change of attitudes towards nature has been described by Richard Louv in his book ‘The Last Child in the Woods’ (2010) as ‘Nature-Deficit Disorder’. Within his book, Louv outlines the key causes of ‘Nature-Deficit Disorder’, it’s impacts on the current generations and how societal change can resolve this issue. While Louv makes many astute observations regarding the key causes of ‘Nature-Deficit Disorder’, namely a lack of

This fear has been established through several factors. Firstly, the media’s portrayal of the outdoors. News sites of today are far more likely to publish stories highlighting the negative aspects of outdoor activities, such as people dying while rock-climbing, or children vanishing in the woods. This focus on the dangers of the outdoors depicts nature as a place of fear, a place unsafe for children. This coupled with a parent’s desire to ‘cotton wool’ their children means parents are increasingly reluctant to let their child explore the outdoors. I have had personal experiences with this throughout my childhood. I remember my mother lecturing to me about not leaving her site while in the parks, or to not go down to the riverside due to someone recently drowning there. Movies and T.V shows have also played a role in shaping this perception. Hundreds of movie plots involve a child going lost in the woods, or monsters appearing from a dark forest. These images enter the minds of both children and parents, painting nature as place to

In today’s society, children lack motivation to explore the outdoors, primarily due to a lack of curiosity. The excitement once associated with the mysteries of the outdoors does not seem to be present in the current generation. This is likely due to several influences. Firstly, as Louv points out ‘We are becoming a more sedentary society (pg. 11)’. Children are observing their parents and other adults not interacting with nature, and these observations form their own experiences with nature. No one is demonstrating to children how to behave curiously, how to question what they have discovered, and to try experimentation. From my own observations, children are increasingly told to follow the rules set by adults, such as ‘Only play in this area’ or ‘Don’t touch something you don’t know’. These rules narrow the room for new experiences and take away the discovery and wonder associated with simply exploring the outdoors. Some programs such as the “Bush Kinder” initiative is trying to combat this and reinstall a sense of curiosity within children in an aim to further connect them with nature throughout the rest of their lives. The second reason kids are lacking curiosity is that nature has lost it’s aura of mystery. This is due to children being far better educated on nature in schools that they already have an idea of what nature is . They know more species of animals,