When You're Sitting In Front Of A

A Natural Environment Is Far More Complex Than Any Playing Field.

We Are Telling Our Kids That Nature Is In The Past And It Probably Doesn't Count Anymore, The Future Is In Electronics, The Boogeyman Is In The Woods, And Playing Outdoors Is Probably Illicit And Possibly Illegal.

Natural Play Strengthens Children's Self-confidence And Arouses Their Senses-their Awareness Of The World And All That Moves In It, Seen And Unseen.

From 1997 To 2003, There Was A Decline Of 50 Percent In The Proportion Of Children Nine To Twelve Who Spent Time In Such Outside Activities As Hiking, Walking, Fishing, Beach Play, And Gardening, According To A Study By Sandra Hofferth At The University Of Maryland.

When We Raise Our Children, We Relive Our Childhood. Forgotten Memories, Painful And Pleasurable, Rise To The Surface.... So Each Of Us Thinks, Almost Daily, Of How Our Own Childhood Compares With Our Children's, And Of What Our Children's Future Will Hold.