Off the Playstation and Into the Woods. New Book Helps Parents Overcome Serious Decline in Children’s Relationships With Nature.
Lyons, CO – April 27th, 2012 – What is the impact on American life when the average child spends more than seven hours in front of entertainment media every day?* A new book, The Truly Alive Child: For Those Who Seek A Grander Vision For Our Children, responds to the widespread nature-deficit-disorder crisis in American society by giving parents and teachers the tools they need to ensure their children not only return to playing outside, but that they develop a deep and meaningful connection with nature along the way.
“Because the focus of our education system is almost solely on the rote memorization of information there’s so little room for a deep and meaningful relationship with nature to develop,” says educator Simon Paul Harrison, author of The Truly Alive Child: For Those Who Seek A Grander Vision For Our Children. “We should be deeply concerned about the long-term impact this will have on our children. Time outside in nature is so healthy for our children on every level; body, mind and soul. There are numerous scientific studies, and we can see with our own eyes what happens to children when they don’t value playing outside. Children develop obesity, suffer from a lack of creativity and even happiness.”
Harrison’s book counters the current trends in modern society by providing adults with powerful tools and techniques to support children in re-discovering their deep connections with nature. It includes:
- How to promote home environments that inspire children to discover the secrets of nature
- How to create adventures that support children in developing a love for being outside
- How to use questions to create passion for nature
The book emphasizes the importance of keeping children connected to nature not just for the individual but also for the global community. “Without the ability and wisdom to look past the information they are taught and to seek personal experiences, children will have very little love for the earth. It’s quite conceivable the environmental movement could die out with the next generation simply due to a lack of quality time spent outside.” Harrison says.
Simon Paul Harrison was previously the director of The Children of The Earth Foundation, (founded by world-renowned environmental skills instructor Tom Brown, Jr.) and is now the founder and president of Wild Earth’s Children. He has taught and spoke all over North America including New York City’s Central Park, Alaska, and the Cree Nation in Quebec.
The Truly Alive Child: For Those Who Seek A Grander Vision For Our Children by Simon Paul Harrison (Fox Walking Publishing. $16.95, 240 pages, paperback, May 2012) is available at major online retailers. For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/H7lofm or http://www.simonpaulharrison.com.
Fox Walking Publishing is dedicated to literature that supports awareness and growth of human consciousness.
*http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia012010nr.cfm 2010 Study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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CONTACT: Simon Paul Harrison, 303-823-0875, simon@trulyalivechild.com
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