kids between the ages of 8 and 18 spend an average of 6.8 hours daily with electronic media, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
"There is great danger of raising children under virtual house arrest," according to Howard Frumkin, the director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Environmental Health unit.
He says, "Children who spend more time outdoors tend to do better on testing; they do better on science; they tend to play more cooperatively."
Research suggests 'that there is a relationship between exposure to nature and reduced symptoms of ADD, that lack of exposure plays a role in childhood obesity, and that time in nature can quell symptoms of depression'.
"When I talk about nature, I'm not just talking about wilderness," says Richard Louv, author of Last Child In The Woods, 'Nature can be a clump of trees at the end of the cul-de-sac or the ravine behind the house. Through the biologist's eyes these places can seem insignificant but in a child's eyes that ravine can be a whole universe.'
