Last Child In The Woods Chapters 9, 10, 11

Reading this book over the past few weeks has definitely opened my eyes to some of the things we are doing right and wrong in our household in regards to nature and free play. Something that really stood out to me in chapter 9 was that most children don't view activities such as team sports, etc. has fun but as work. Some of these kids are relieved when they come home from school in the afternoon and know that don't have to be anywhere else and can just be free. I have mixed emotions with The Bogeyman Syndrome chapter. Let's face it folks, the world has gotten worse since we were children and bad things do happen. My 13 year old daughter is already asking for independence with running on our street alone, walking around stores on her own while I shop, etc., but I still can't let go of that fear that something may happen to her in the process. In the chapter The Death of Natural History I do agree with the statements made about people being oblivious about their activities affecting nature. The information about ATV use in the desert and how children, and parents for that matter, could name all the different brands of ATVs available but couldn't identify the snakes, lizards, hawks, and cacti in their local areas. It is sad but true. My husband is currently working on learning everything about herbs and the local edible flora in our area. It has become a lost art. We have turned our backs on what is important and put all our money on technology saving and entertaining us. What is even more disturbing is graduates that went to college to study biology and are not even taught identification and are taking jobs in these areas but don't know the information. There are very few people left in this world that have all this knowledge. Small programs across the country and world are being set up to conquer this problem but I fear it may be too little too late.