Take children and technology outside!

Washington Post writer Donna St. George recently published an article entitled "To chagrin of parents and experts, kids shun nature." The article talks about how youngsters prefer the comforts of the indoors to roughing it on a hike or bike ride. The problem has become so severe that a national movement entitled leave no child inside is gaining steam across the country. This national attention is compliments of a new book entitled "Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder" by Richard Louv. The article also references studies by University of Maryland professor Sandra Hofferth that suggests time outside is down and time in front of the computer is up for children across the country.

I think before too long everyone in America will suffer from one deficit disorder or another but despite our ridiculous infatuation with considering every problem as some sort of disease or disorder, the issue is intriguing.

My boys spend at least 50% of their free time playing outside. They play sports, catch lizards, ride bikes, dig in the dirt, build forts, climb trees, play in puddles, dissect lovebugs and do whatever they can to be as messy as possible. Thus, it hard for me to fully comprehend the dilemma that many Moms may face in this regard.

However, I think there are some ways that Moms can help technology-crazed kids WANT to be outside:

• Encourage children to document their adventures in nature with a digital camera (I recently wrote about a digital camera designed with children in mind.)
• Relate outdoor adventures to your child's curriculum. For example, turn a leaf collection assignment into a digital adventure.
• Create (or have your children create) a digital, outdoor scavenger hunt with an enticing prize package (like pizza and ice cream for dinner)
  
• Encourage children to collect specimens to examine under a digital microscope (I have used the Digital Blue QX3 and plan to research other products in preparation for Christmas shopping)
• Encourage physical activity and health education through the use of a heart rate monitor. Simple ones are available for under $20 and children may have fun keeping track of how their heart rate changes as they do different activities in the great outdoors.
• Use a digital camera, digital camcorder or other recording device to capture the sounds of the great outdoors. Then, create your own music using GarageBand or Audacity.

You know your children better than I but hopefully these ideas help you think about how to bring your children's love of technology into nature. In my next post I will share some interesting things I learned about my boys' concept of nature. Stay tuned!