Nature for Children’s Mental Growth
From Our Archive:
Several years ago when I was passing by an area in Dhaka, Bangladesh, I was quite shocked! I used to know this place as a playfield for the neighboring kids. But I noticed big construction piles, mounds of sand, cement and concrete in that field, the playground was gone. It was being developed for new multi-story apartment buildings! Those kids will not have a field to play anymore. What will they do now instead of playing in the field?
Thanks to technology they might watch TV or play video games. Even in US, I have seen many kids spend most of their free time playing video games or browsing Internet. The more urban and tech-savvy we become, more and more our children lose their connection with the natural world. We don’t need to take our children to a park or natural setting; they have their own virtual world in the computer! Some parents are relieved because by staying home their kids are safer; they are safe from outside bullies, drugs, or many other bad influences. No disagreement with parent’s concerns for their children; but do we know what impacts it might have on those little brains for not being in touch with the natural environment?
We wanted to highlight the work of Solace“ an initiative by a parent whose children were diagnosed with substance abuse, now another parent who has joined the network to dedicate her time for parents of children with drug problems.