From an early age, a child’s life is managed by his or her parents. The level of management varies from parent to parent, but typically parents have a control over how the child spends his or her free time and the activities that they partake in. It is common that as the child matures the management decreases, allowing the child to gain independence by making decisions on their own. However, throughout the last decade, a culture of fear has been developing and becoming the new norm in many communities. This atmosphere of fear has led to a decrease in the non-structured outdoor play and an increase in level dependence that the child has towards the parents (Little, 2015). Exposure to the natural environment can be limited or encouraged by the parents. The term Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD) is used to explain the lack of nature that children are experiencing as they grow and develop. This paper explores some of the fears that motivate parents’ decision making when it comes to limiting interactions with the natural environment- which limits their child’s experiences in the natural environment- and this paper also proposes possible solutions to remove or lessen these fears. Children are spending less time in nature due to the fear that is present among their parents; to overcome this barrier to nature access, the culture of fear needs to be broken and parents need to be educated on the benefits that time spent in nature provides. Defining the Fear Spending time in a natural environment has been proven to have mental and physical health benefits, but nature’s unpredictable tendencies leaves many in fear of the uncontrollable and the unknown. The culture of fear that is present today has been present throughout history, it is just expressed different as society advances. Mankind has survived because of its fear of the environment through natural selection; knowledge of the hardships that are present in nature have been passed down from generation to generation (van den Berg & ter Heijne, 2005). Natural selection allows for the survival of those that are biologically prepared. As a species, it has been accepted that humans are biologically wired to fear the natural environment due to the threats it posed to pre-modern societies (van den Berg & ter Heijne, 2005). Some may use this fear to capture a greater appreciation of nature, while others form a distrust of nature. The distrust of nature contributes to the culture of fear that is present in society, which in turn limits the amount of time that the child will spend in a non-structured, natural setting, further adding to NDD. Nature Deficit Disorder is a loss of connection to the natural world. This sense of inclusion or exclusion in nature changes how the person perceives their connection to the natural world. Those that feel they are excluded or disconnected tend to protect themselves from nature (Cheng & Monroe, 2012). The life experiences of the parents may determine if the child is brought up with or without the exposure to nature. Parents that feel disconnected and afraid of nature will protect their children from the possible exclusion from nature because they experienced a distrust in nature.
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This type of play often exposes children to risk-taking behavior that is important for development (Little, 2015). Non-structured play allows children to develop a stronger sense of self-worth along with an awareness of others and their surroundings (Ridgers et al., 2012). Some parents did not fear the outdoors, rather they feared the risk-taking behavior that occurs when children are playing in an unpredictable environment. After interviewing many parents, Little learned that the common fears among parents seemed to be the fear of abduction, risk of injury, and heavy traffic. The majority of the parents also admitted that the fears they had were irrational (Little, 2015). Irrational parental fears may be inhibiting the development of their children; the children are not able to fully experience their natural surroundings and the development of skills that occurs in such settings. If children are not exposed to these types of situations, then they may be lacking important skills needed to become less dependent of their parents. Whether the fear is rational or irrational, it still may limit the child’s access to
This type of play often exposes children to risk-taking behavior that is important for development (Little, 2015). Non-structured play allows children to develop a stronger sense of self-worth along with an awareness of others and their surroundings (Ridgers et al., 2012). Some parents did not fear the outdoors, rather they feared the risk-taking behavior that occurs when children are playing in an unpredictable environment. After interviewing many parents, Little learned that the common fears among parents seemed to be the fear of abduction, risk of injury, and heavy traffic. The majority of the parents also admitted that the fears they had were irrational (Little, 2015). Irrational parental fears may be inhibiting the development of their children; the children are not able to fully experience their natural surroundings and the development of skills that occurs in such settings. If children are not exposed to these types of situations, then they may be lacking important skills needed to become less dependent of their parents. Whether the fear is rational or irrational, it still may limit the child’s access to