An article came to my attention today. It said: "Do today's kids suffer from nature deficit disorder?" http://tinyurl.com/2bf5a4f
Yes! Apparently I'm not the only one who noticed. I'd begun to feel like I was. As a society, we seem to be losing touch with many things that used to be a normal part of life, and in some cases, possibly even essential parts of life.
Our modern society says we are "connected", but are we? People buy pre-packaged meals rather than cooking for themselves, or they eat out all the time (some tell me they don't know how to cook). Kids don't go outside to play hockey (or other activities) they go inside and play video games. More and more people don't talk face to face, or use a phone, but use a computer and text messaging. Um... kind of like I'm doing now.
When the power goes out, I've had people tell me they can't DO anything. They're lost without their gadgets and gismos. I remember one girl (in a group of kids) who came to my house a few years ago who was lost because I didn't own a microwave. I had to teach her how to warm up her food without one.
Not that long ago there was a young person who told me they couldn't read what I was writing - I was writing by hand using cursive writing, in other words, plain old handwriting where the letters are connected together. They couldn't read it?! Almost everyone can read my writing. I guess I shouldn't be surprised because when my kids were in elementary school there was the concern that because so many people were using digital clocks these days the kids didn't know how to read an old fashioned clock.
But I digress. This started because of an article about being disconnected from nature. We don't get outside, move our bodies, and enjoy nature itself. Our attitude, as a society, to food has changed too, to the point that we've lost touch with where our food really comes from. Have you noticed what a difference there is between the food that magically appears in the supermarket and what you can get when you grow it yourself. As time progresses, the more different it seems to become.
The potential impact of this disconnect on yours or your family's health is... is... staggering. Eating healthy food, moving your body, being connected are all essential parts of your good health.
That things have gotten so bad that it could be called "nature deficit disorder" is a bad sign. What have you noticed? What do you think?
