Leave No Child Inside By Richard Louv Analysis

In the article, “Leave No Child Inside” by Richard Louv, he talks about children and their relationship with nature and the outdoors. Louv is the author behind the book, “Last Child in the Woods” which relates to this article because he wrote about how kids always stay inside instead of going outside. He states in the article that kids today are so hooked on TV and their electronics thats they don’t get to experience the childhood that their parents had when they were kids. Part of that has to do with parents being too busy, the fear of stranger danger, and the destruction of nature itself, he claims that pollution made the river unfit for human contact, park maintenance declined, and crime began being a problem. Louv also shares research
that include the health benefits of being out in nature. One study showed that students learning in an outside environment tend to have an increase in self esteem, problem solving, and motivation to learn. The study at the University of Illinois shows that kids hyperactivity have reduced symptoms due to the natural setting. He says the number of kids playing outdoors is decreasing and Louv wants kids to become more intimate with nature before its all gone. Many organizations are teaming up to like Walt Disney, The National Conservation Center and the National Conservation Training Center are holding conferences to help bring kids closer to nature because of the movements arising in multiple states over the the issue. Louv’s article just deepens the concept that he has in his book, “Last Child In the Woods” by making it clear to the people that children need the outdoors. I believe that kids today need to go out more in nature like Louv says in his article, because nature, can help kids build friendships, care for the world, and it has beneficial effects. Kids going out into nature can be be as simple as playing in your neighborhood and interacting with other kids. For example, as a kid I was always quiet and shy to talk to new people so I didn’t really have a “best friend”. But once I began going outside more I met my friend Diana, whom today is still my best friend! In Louv’s article he says,” Within the space of a few decades, the way children understand and experience their neighborhoods and the natural world has changed drastically” (Louv 4). This talks about the way kids are interacting in their neighborhoods and the natural world, he’s trying to say that their has been a change in interaction with nature like less awareness of global threats, decrease in physical contact and intimacy with nature within the child and teenage age group. I, myself have 7 younger siblings and most of them are still in the elementary school age group. They’re all outdoor kids and love playing with their friends even if the weather's not that good, so I’ve seen them grow up with a lot of friends due to them being social with the kids in our neighborhood. Talking about being social, by having kids interact more in their neighborhood and nature they begin to build stronger social skills because they’re interacting with other kids and that forces children to engage in social activities. Next, In my opinion, interacting with nature as a kid has made me care more for the environment. When kids interact with nature at a young age they’ll understand what nature really is by the time they get older because they’ve been in nature their whole lives, and because of that they’ll feel a bigger responsibility to care for the world. People who have interacted with nature their whole lives understand why it’s important to care for the world because nature is the trees, animals, insects, etc and they’ll get why it’s important to take care of all those things because of the benefits it bring to the environment for example the trees provide clean air for us to breathe. In Louv’s article he states that, “Industrial and other pollution made the river unfit for human contact, park maintenance declined, and crime became a problem” (Louv 6). This proves that nature is slowly getting destroyed and we need more people to care for the environment so they can care and be more aware of the problems in our earth. If we start teaching kids to love and interact with nature at a young age they’ll be those people that care for the environment and keep the earth sane. The last reason why I agree with Louv’s article is because I believe that nature does have many beneficial side effects in kids.
In his article he claims that, “Studies at the University of Illinois show that time in a natural setting significantly reduces symptoms of attention-deficit (hyperactivity) disorder in children as young as age five” (Louv 5). This illustrates that nature can be helpful for kids with disorders like hyperactivity because it soothes them and reduces their stress levels. Studies have also shown that kids that don’t spend a lot of time outside have greater psychological and physical health problems, like obesity. On the other hand kids who have and outdoor environment have an increase in self-esteem, problem solving, and a greater motivation to learn. I see the good effects of nature in one of my young siblings because he tends to be very hyperactive and when he goes to play outside I see a change in his mood and behavior, he’s calmer and nicer when he’s playing outside. I’ve also see the effects of kids not spending too much time outside and i see it everyday, I see children playing on an ipad or a parent's phone instead of interacting with their friends! Lastly, I also see the obesity problem in kids everyday, I do think that the obesity problem is being caused by not spending time outdoors because when you're outdoors you’re doing some sort of physical activity and indoors you’re just sitting watching tv, eating, and sleeping. Nature impacts kids in all sorts of ways, but the beneficial impact should be enough to get kids to go
outside.