Studies of children in playgrounds with both green areas and manufactured play areas found that children engaged in more creative forms of play in the green areas.

In a famous Middletown study of Muncie, Indiana, in 1924, mothers were asked to rank the qualities they most desire in their children. At the top of the list were conformity and strict obedience. More than fifty years later, when the Middletown survey was replicated, mothers placed autonomy and independence first. The healthiest parenting probably promotes a balance of these qualities in children.

Kids are plugged into some sort of electronic medium 44 hours per week.

Children need nature for the healthy development of their senses, and therefore, for learning and creativity.

To take nature and natural play away from children may be tantamount to withholding oxygen.

This seems clear enough: When truly present in nature, we do use all our senses at the same time, which is the optimum state of learning.

If getting our kids out into nature is a search for perfection, or is one more chore, then the belief in perfection and the chore defeats the joy. It's a good thing to learn more about nature in order to share this knowledge with children; it's even better if the adult and child learn about nature together. And it's a lot more fun.