“Summertime . . . and the livin’ is easy. . . .” Maybe for crooner Louis Armstrong, but what about you and your family? Has your rhythm slowed down? Do the days seem longer and the connections stronger?

What is it about summertime that it can serve as a balm to our too-busy lives? Perhaps it’s vacation time, the weather, the light, our emerging from our cocoons. I contend that summer brings out our best selves because we spend more time outdoors.

In his book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, Richard Louv eloquently describes all the latest research showing the human costs of alienation from nature, which he notes are: “diminished use of senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses.” Aside from what is lost when nature is not apart of someone’s life, he also focuses in his book on what is gained in the presence of the natural world, and his goal is to inspire parents to choose a path to a “nature-child reunion.”
Connecting with nature is a way for us all to:

• Connect to our bodies. This is important for all of us, but especially our girls, who are bombarded with messages about how they “should” look: skinny, tall, sexy. Kids who play in nature naturally learn to appreciate the functionality of their bodies, to fly down a sand dune, to make a big splash with a rock, to conquer a tree by climbing to the top.
• Foster our mind-body-spirit connection. We had this connection easily when we were young. In “Growing Back Into Our Body,” Cathy Gwin describes her toddler, streaking through the house after a bath, running like the wind with freedom and confidence. Later, as he took up fishing, he moved from how many fish he could catch to the thrill of fooling a large-mouth bass into biting a specific lure or casting his line to just the right spot.
• Reduce stress. The pace of life is so speeded up that nearly all of us feel the stress. Stress on a developing brain interferes with the ability to learn to manage strong emotions and self-soothe, functions of the frontal lobe. When I find myself burdened with the worries of the day (e.g. an article late for the newsletter), I can go on my porch and soak up all the green dotted with beautiful perennials here and there. I can connect deeper by plucking a few weeds and smelling the dirt on my fingers.
• Stay healthy. The current generation of kids might be the first one to have a shorter lifespan than their parents. Obesity and the subsequent complications of heart disease are top on the list of dangers. We are not letting our kids outside by themselves because we worry it is dangerous. We keep them indoors and substitute screen time. The average kid in the US spends 6 ½ hours/day on screens! The US Surgeon General recommends that we all get up and move at least 30 minutes at least five days a week. Nature compels us to move–to get to that next hill, to swim in the lake on a hot day.
• Care for the environment. In Last Child in the Woods, Louv shares the philosophy of beloved teacher/biologist/oceanographer Elaine Brooks who believed that “people are unlikely to value what they cannot name.” By connecting with nature when they are young, our kids will consider the impact on nature when faced with a “higher return on investment” when they get older. In “Loving the Earth by Living It: Demonstrating Environmental Concern” (Wings, Winter 2003), Scott Schlegel describes harvesting fruit from the backyard; picking ripe grapes and squishing them through a sieve to make grape juice; working in the elementary school garden while the kids either helped or played on the playground; and everyday recycling as a family.
• Live in the now. The only moment we truly have control over is the current moment. Nature helps us to be fully in the moment and revel in it. During a hike along a path lined with wildflowers, my mind would still. Pick a path with a stream and my son would run ahead for the next chance to throw a rock in. Being in nature and with nature just helps us to feel right again, to return to our natural selves.

Now with the sun here to greet us, what can your family do this summer to increase your moments in nature? Start small, as easy as a picnic in your backyard. Check out Jody Bellant Scheer’s article on “Creating Family Magic” for ideas. Doesn’t matter what you do. Just make nature connection happen as often as you can—summer, winter, spring and fall! A love of nature may be one of the most important attributes you can give your kids to thrive as happy adults. Perhaps you’ll be lucky enough one day to have your child look up to you, as Mary Pipher describes in The Shelter of Each Other her then four-year-old doing during a family campout, and declare: “I’m melting into richness!”

With admiration for all you do,

Dr. Kathy