Addressing the Silent Emergency

"The changes we have wrought in childhood in order to protect children from danger constitute a silent emergency," writes Eric Nelson in his book, Cultivating Outdoor Classrooms. "I call it emergency because of the rapidly escalating negative effects it is having on children and society at large. I call it silent because the combined impact of several unintended consequences make it so damaging, yet the collective impact of these consequences is rarely discussed."

The author outlines seven critical issues children are facing today:

• "Lack of exercise
• Preoccupation with electronic media
• Perception of outdoors as an unsafe place to play
• Isolation from and fear of nature
• Lack of engagement in and connection to the world, including nature
• Reductive approaches to ECE
• Epidemic use of behavior-modifying drugs on young children."

Nelson believes that "the Outdoor Classroom can help early childhood educators address this emergency."

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