Summary Of Last Child In The Woods By Richard Louv

In Richard Louv’s book, Last Child in the Woods, nature deficit disorder is presented and explained. Defined as dwindling encounters with nature paired with increases in diagnoses of ADD, obesity and depression, nature deficit disorder explains a problem that is facing today’s youth. Louv argues that children are lacking a solid relationship with nature which is required for their development especially with a focus on educating the whole child--academic, emotional and social. This concept goes back to biophilia; because we were at one time hunters and gatherers, we need to nature to survive. Louv (2010) writes,

This disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses. The disorder can be detected in individuals, families, and communities. Nature deficit can even change human behavior in cities, which could ultimately affect their design, since long-standing studies show a relationship between the absence, or inaccessibility, of parks and open space with high crime rates, depression, and other urban maladies. (p. 36)

Unstructured play like building forts, constructing tree-houses, sword fighting with sticks, sending leaf “boats” down streams help children problem-solve, be creative and practice their inquiry skills in authentic ways. Louv suggests that the solution to nature deficit disorder is more time outside in unstructured play combined with less time inside and reduced exposure to