Last child in the woods
... I picked up a book an hour or so ago, and I know this book will fascinate me enough to capture me amongst it's folds. In the introduction, the author says;" For a new generation, nature is more abstraction than reality. Increasingly, nature is something to watch, to consume, to wear-to ignore. ...
Our society is teaching young people to avoid direct experience in nature. That lesson is delivered in schools, families, even organizations devoted to the outdoors, and codified into the legal and regulatory structures in many our communities. "
I believe every one of us has entered into a conversation where we laugh at the differences between children these days and how things were in our day. We shake our head and wonder how we found such great delight in riding bikes (furiously, not just to a destination, but to push ourselves to our limits), we climbed trees, we sat and spent ages making daisy chains, we caught frogs, we dissected worms, we had snail races...
Things were very different once, with the new generation... they remain inside, they lose themselves in the worlds created by computer technicians and they keep themselves clean. We arrived home bleeding from a scrape, a scratch , bruises on our shins... Something that is different in this generation as we teach them to behave safely and not risk injury.
Before I read this book, I am curious what your childhood was like and ... where you see your own children's experiences are leading.
Comments (41)
Nice pictures ...
So do you think the children remain inside because that's where the electrical outlets are?
I do remember times being different. You knew the names of your neighbours, you stopped to talk to them, in fact... sometimes you shared lunch with them.
THINK I INVENTED THE FIRST MOTORISED ROULETTE MACHINE
I used to have a man I hired as a gardener, he was here one day. I had a plasterer here the same day, when a friend dropped by to help me put a hose reel on the wall. ( Yes, I fail with boy toys , such as drills). The last one commented loudly out the front of my home, "You have an ever revolving door with men coming and going, what sort of place do you run here". I nearly died. The plasterer said he had wondered the same thing.
Its a wise man that can be stupid at times.
Not so easy the other way round
Abagail,
When I was a child, I used to listen to by parents and
grand parents Tell tales of older wiser and better days.
Then I discovered the word Romanticized
I myself think the world has become a sterile Place, and some times I expect my child's Doctor to write a prescription saying my son is allergic to life.
But am I just Romanticizing
However I'm hitting the sea for a swim. Nice Blog
So let me guess, your parents and grandparents walked ten miles to school in the snow... uphill...without shoes...???
I do think we are making it too sterile for children... I think there's a time in our life where we eat dirt, bleed and all with wild aplomb.
Enjoy your swim.
WOW I JUST WENT OUTSIDE BEEN BUSY INSIDE WENT OUT LET AIR INTO CAR AS SUN WAS OUT SPENT YESTERDAY POLISHING IT OH MY GOD ITS ROASTING
A SWIM AT THE BEACH IS A GREAT IDEA
ABAGAIL YES THE PAST WAS SO DIFFERENT IT TRUE CHILDREN ARE WRAPPED IN COTTON WOOL AND GIVEN EVERYTHING
I OFTEN WONDERED ARE WE BUYING WHAT WE WANT FOR THEM
Thanks for washing my car, Mike.
...
This picture recalls my childhood
You describe your walk so vividly, without the same experiences as us... what will the children of the future be like as adults?
Martha... it was a pretty wonderful time, wasn't it?
and you know.. until now I still have a regular communication with my friends from my childhood through the group of whatsapp, we had a reunion last year
Did you enjoy the re-union? Finding out what had happened to everyone?
We started as friends since kindergarten and primary.
Ever body has changed, but the memories of wonderful childhood remain the same
I am glad you had a wonderful time.
and your encouragement; You still have time to marry I wish....
Honestly I prepared well all the things of my wedding, but I have a problem to publish the invitation because I haven't written the name of my groom
my childhood, lots of broken stuff: arms,legs,things,
Today I see my nephews/nieces and what they do now is play games and interact with internet… (the internet I can relate,…. I feel “isolated” if I can't get a 4G signal).
So, what about your, Bogart... do you have any?
These days, I play too carefully. Although, I did cut myself rather badly on rocks in Thailand. I laughed about it at the time, because I had to explore them... and then I returned to the boat bleeding, much to the horror of my friends. Although, the worst of it was I broke my toe when I walked into a rock , when I was out swimming.