Last Child in the Woods is a nonfiction book by Richard Louv that poses as investigative journalism that is meant to educate people. In his book, Louv presents a term nature-deficit disorder which according to the author is not a medical nor a scientific but merely a term to define the current state of our urban lifestyles. Louv argues that in this era children are spending more and more time indoors when they should be outside interacting and allowing their imaginations to go wild.
Louv blends studies, statistics, and interviews with different children and their parents to create a vivid picture of how time outside has been a major influence of child obesity, ADHD, anxiety, and depression in today’s youth. The journalist also states that because of video games, television, computers, and lack of time and money, young people are growing up in a world comprised of detachment. They lack social skills and become susceptible to increasing drug abuse in the country.
In one of the chapters, Louv discloses principal reasons today’s parents feel the need to protect their kids from the perceived dangers of the outdoors. After interviewing different parents it was clear that all of them shared one trait, fear. The interviewed parents all claimed the outdoors is full of crazy people, people who needed years of therapy, or to be imprisoned. Fear plays a significant role in our culture and unrealistically shapes our perceptions. Louv while sensitive to the need to protect our children recommends a new approach to keeping them safe. Instead of teaching them to stay away from strangers, children should be taught to recognize particular habits and situations that pose a threat to their well-being. According to Louv, in doing so, children will be free to interact and learn from different individuals.
Last Child in the Woods is not a doomsday warning but rather a collection of evidence that recommends a major shift on how we interact, educate, and develop the world. The author recommends we take a different approach to nature and education, he insists that people should utilize land in a way that shows respect for nature. Education institutions should teach children on how to exist in this world and utilize the natural resources instead of posing nature as something to be feared and shunned.
