We’ve had an unusually cold and wet spring but summer has finally arrived in San Francisco. Today was sunny and breezy and the perfect day for being outdoors. And once again I’m feeling guilty about bringing up a child in the city. Our backyard is the size of a postage stamp. We have to walk four blocks to get to our tiny neighborhood park. Otherwise we have to drive.
Several months ago I read an article in the New York Times about a new book called ‘Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder’. And now I have something else to worry about.
The theory behind the book is that children “who are obsessed with computer games or are driven from sport to sport… miss the restorative effects that come with the nimbler bodies, broader minds and sharper senses that are developed during random running-around at the relative edges of civilization.”
We’re staying in the city because we enjoy the culture and the diversity. I think it is great that my son knows our bus route, the guys at the bagel shop, and all the kids and nannies at the playground. But is his familiarity with the play structures at all of the various playgrounds coming at the expense of something more important? We he grow up to be someone who just plays video games, doesn’t get to relax and clear his head in the woods, and doesn’t care about spotted owls and other troubled species…..
Posted on June 29th, 2005 by Laura Norman
Filed under: The Urban Parent
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