Mom's right: Kids need to get outside, play, researcher says

It is called "nature deficit disorder" and, according to a growing number of researchers, millions of children across the country are suffering from it.

The cure is relatively simple: a daily dose of nature, according the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen, which next week holds a daylong conference on how to nurture nature in children.

Among the speakers will be Andrea Faber Taylor, whose research indicates that exposure to nature for even short periods can help children focus, even those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorders.

"There's no question," said Taylor.

Her research has shown that children can be helped even by having views of nature -- such as trees or green space -- at home or at school.

Mary Vidas, the public policy program director at the Arboretum, said the problem has been growing for the past 20 years as the amount of open space in cities has shrunk. Richard Louv's 2005 book, "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder," spurred her and the Arboretum to address it.

Although research into children and nature has been going on for more than a decade, Vidas and others said Louv's book ignited a movement, in part because of the catchphrase he used to describe it.

"The facts are startling," said Vidas. She said that Louv and other researchers have documented that since 1980 the amount of free space in municipalities has shrunk by about 90 percent with growing urbanization. "We are losing the space around us that children can go out to play in."

The conference, which is expected to attract more than 200 professionals from around the state, is designed to provide participants with ways to provide children with more exposure to nature on a daily basis.

"It makes a difference in children's learning and development," said Betty Cooke of the Minnesota Council on Family Relations, which is co-sponsoring the conference.

Taylor said children gain numerous benefits from being outdoors. Along with being more physically active, they also learn to solve problems and think critically.

"Natural places give them a chance to work with others, satisfies their natural curiosity, teaches them to problem-solve and wonder," said Marti Erickson of the University of Minnesota, who will also be speaking at the conference.

Nature can help kids focus

There are also strong indications that children who experience nature also do better academically, said Taylor. Her rallying cry is, "Kids who spend more time outside end up paying more attention inside."

Researchers think this is because of the calming effect nature has on humans. The added relaxation helps students concentrate better.

"You come back in and you can get down to business," said Erickson, a former school teacher. She believes that she and other researchers for years overlooked the impact that spending less time outside was having on children.

"Kids have been becoming indoor beasts," said Erickson, a developmental psychologist. "I feel like I and others have overlooked that."

Vidas said she hopes the conference will get educators, planners, developers and others thinking about ways to incorporate nature into schools and urban settings.

One simple way to gain immediate benefits is to create an open space on playgrounds for unstructured play, Vidas said.

"Could it be that simple? Maybe," she said. "Children have a great need to connect with something outside themselves. They get their sense of where they fit it in that larger environment by being in that larger environment."

Heron Marquez Estrada • 612-673-4280