Last Child in the Woods

Our kids need nature as part of a healthy childhood. In this groundbreaking book, Louv describes the consequences of the indoor child, how spending time within the confines of four walls can be a kind of prison, removing children from active outdoor play and nature connection.

He coined the phrase “Nature Deficit Disorder” to illustrate the human costs of being disconnected from nature, a rise in anxiety, more obesity, less resiliency, and, in the end, less healthy children for a progressively less healthy world.

This book is not about a specific outdoor adventure, though many outdoor experiences are included in it.

I value this groundbreaking book because it brings to light the need to get children outdoors to have adventures, even small backyard ones. Through numerous studies cited in the book, Louv links the absence of nature in children’s lives to childhood obesity, attention disorders, and depression and explains why. He calls it “Nature-Deficit Disorder” and offers solutions.

The effects of nature, or lack thereof, is true for adults, too, but it’s our children who will become the stewards of our natural world in… show more.

It’s mind-boggling for me to even consider the amount of research and interviewing that went into this genre-establishing tome. In it, Louv shares the stories of hundreds of kids to prove that there is a new disorder plaguing young people today: A lack of connection to the world outside their front doors.

This book was the catalyst for my family moving to the Rocky Mountains. It completely changed our trajectory in life. Nature has a phenomenal way of grounding our thoughts and focusing on all that is good and worthwhile. Each generation seems to be distancing itself farther from this connection to nature. Taking our kids outside, we can preserve this crucial connection. We can create lifelong habits of learning, responsibility, curiosity, discovery, and wonder. Spending time in nature benefits our kids on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level. Last Child in the Woods challenges us to change things up and return… show more.