Out of touch with nature???

Tom: So true about kids 'wrapped up in cotton wool' - no sense of adventure comes to mind - but it is not their fault if their parent know no different in some issues like getting out and about in their lifes's.

Leitz: I think some of us 'older' chappies are showing the benefits of not having TV dominating our lifestyles.  I have lived in the built up areas in my childhood, and do not I think the environment had much of a bad effect as such.  It was more the case of what your parents taught you to believe in as children.

I remember at high school the teachers stating to us that we need to develop skills/hobbies to make us more successful, interesting people.  So writing is what we did at the weekend for homework, as a compostion for English classes.  Yes, it was a good idea at that time.  In my younger years in nursey, we used to spend our time sitting in the local graveyard which was full of wildlife and listen to the birds.  I loved those trips out doors and it was a great place to see lots of things to talk about.

Leitz: To me no one is the same as their parents no matter what anyone tells us.  We are unique indivuals and that is the way we are.  The only things that my mum, dad and I have in common is the fact we all loved horses, wildlife and are all artistic.  My brother was a world apart from those interests.  Still we are all separate people and are not joined at the hip at least.

I feel the good old days where much better unlike today when they are so many other issues that get in the way of us all having our share of green space/ areas and going out for a wildlife foray or two.  As a child my brother and I loved to catch tagpoles and take them home to my parents and place them in a tank - would not do it now though!!

Kat: I forget to mention that both my parents worked full time and we had a housekeeper looking after us.  My mother was high as a boss in the employee list in the Council.  My dad spent time away for his job doing survey work in the islands of Scotland fro his job so both my parents where hard workers. They never where lazy at all, and both professional people.

These days, I think the inbalance is coming from the fact that people are having too many children too soon, and the children are not getting the support that they should due to the immaturity of some of the parents (14-16 years girls having children is a drain to the econony and is not right at all).  So if the children born to teenagers what do teenagers know about the world and its heritage??  They know nothing and cannot pass on their knowledge to their kids. So the kids grow up starved of knowledge about our green world - expect with what they see on TV and are taught at school.

Also, the effect of kids growing up too fast and having kids,  is affecting the education system.  IMHO I feel It is going backwards at times....instead of forwards.  Our future generations need to be informed about the world and all of its heritage simple as that.

Everything is so confusing to even discuss here as there are so many facets of the question beign debated on this thread - it is knowing where to start and where to end.

Regards

Kathy and Dave

I would be interested to know more about the sample of children used in these surveys, in particular where they live, before making a judgement on how our children are no longer enjoying nature and the outdoors.

I live in a rural town. When the weather is kind, the recreation area by our local river is always teeming with people, young and old. The children are swimming and playing in the river, playing games on the grass, fishing or paddling, collecting pebbles and feeding ducks. This is not restricted to young children. There are also large groups of teenagers down there. Yes, they may have their beer cans with them, but they are playing ball games, swimming and having fun outdoors. Whole extended families are having picnics and barbies, there are people of all ages everywhere you look.

The primary school nearby my house has a massive grass area, full of adventure equipment - logs, rope swings, sand pits, large trees, small garden plots, wild flowers and bird feeders, and so many exciting things for the children to play with at playtimes and school holidays.

Our local public footpaths are always busy. One in particular that passes allotments with various small animals there, from fancy hens to bunnies, donkeys and ponies. This is a favourite spot for children, especially when the ponies and donkeys have youngsters in tow, and the baby chicks are in view. No-one can miss the swallows and swifts in that area.

My daughter and her friends always played out in the streets, as did my grandchildren with their friends. TV and computers were for after dark or rainy days. As I write this, there is half a dozen children playing noisily in next door's garden, 3 of them are high up in the old apple tree.

So all is not lost, and maybe it is just a matter of where you live.

Well said Robert

It show that having a good parent/granparent like yourself who is a good influence on a childs eduation makes all the difference in the world. 

You have the skills like photography you pass it on to tohers who are keen to learn in your family and of course on here too.  We appreciate all the help you give too {big smile}

There is no excuse for parents to push away their kids and send them off elsewhere with a TV game like they where an annoyance. Take them out and share a family day out!  That is the best thing to do in the world - as kids love to know and find out and they are like sponges and soak everything in their heads.

Regards

Kathy and Dave

Hi Tom

Your so right this topic, when I was my boys age I was camping with my mate down the local woods, I would not even dream of allowing my sons to do that. What I am doing instead is teaching them about nature and the countryside and what fun can be had there. They are hooked on wildlife photography and I have put some of there stuff here, we go for walks both in the countryside and the coast and if they want to clamber over rocks etc I let them get on with it. We have a tree out of the front of the house which they often climb and as they don not damage it the one or two neighbours who complained were "advised" by me to drop it. I must admit until this year I didnt allow them to go to the local park alone as it was a haven for trouble makers and druggies but at last the Police have done their job and driven them away so they go there a lot by themselves now.

     I learn't a lot about nature in a way that might upset some as I used to hunt  (and eat or sell) rabbits either with ferrets and polecats or shooting them from a young age if my decaying memory is right I was about 10 when I started. But being out in the country enabled me to learn and identify all the other great wildlife we have and I made a point of trying to rememer what I saw.

We have just got back in today from going down the local tributary of the River Mole which is all over grown but it was great fun breaking through all the Himilayan Balsom to get down to the water to fish. We only got 3 fish between us but it was great fun, 1 Chub, 1 Rudd and a Dace, but what was really good for me was when the boys started asking about the different bird calls we could hear :o), shame I could not identify them all.

Oppps talking of "rabbiting" thats exactly what I have started doing.

Shane

Nice one Shane,

All great comments guys, We currently have over 40 field teaching schemes across the UK which mainly take place on our reserves, but also on other sites of conservation interest. About 60,000 school children visit these field teaching schemes each year. Let's hope soon we see less reports that todays children are "out of Touch" with Wildlife and Nature and more young conservationists.

Tom

Devil's advocate here :)

I take these surveys with a pinch of salt- not so long ago we were told that 14% of boys between 2 and 15 were obese ( BUPA fact sheet  ) . My son and I looked at his class at school- and a few others and found about 3 big lads out of several hundred - so either there are WHOLE SCHOOLS full of obese kids or we are being taken for suckers again- after all we should all have died from Bird 'Flu in 2007 :)

I checked my BMI against my height and weight and I am apparently overweight and close to obesity. For those who checked out the 'What were you doing 34 years ago' thread- I am not much bigger than I was in that pic- chest 38- waist 34 etc etc...

Oh wait!! It must be  my hair!!!!!!!!!!  :))

S

Seymour,

I completely agree.

LOL Seymour

..................at your hair

Thinking of the nest material for the birds in our garden over the years - just think of those birds loving your hair LOL

Cheeky Kathy {wink}

Regards

Kathy and Dave

 Have to agree with you Sparrow.This past 20 years i have met many youngsters through my work and they were all into wild-life and their pets. Just retired at christmas and it was exactly the same up to then.

Yes they do have Computers now but as you say ,mostly for rainy days and none of my young customers were obese period.

Riding bicycles,playing football,picnics,walks in the country certainly exist big style here, however,I don't have any grandchildren

Susan H said:

I would be interested to know more about the sample of children used in these surveys, in particular where they live, before making a judgement on how our children are no longer enjoying nature and the outdoors.

I live in a rural town. When the weather is kind, the recreation area by our local river is always teeming with people, young and old. The children are swimming and playing in the river, playing games on the grass, fishing or paddling, collecting pebbles and feeding ducks. This is not restricted to young children. There are also large groups of teenagers down there. Yes, they may have their beer cans with them, but they are playing ball games, swimming and having fun outdoors. Whole extended families are having picnics and barbies, there are people of all ages everywhere you look.

The primary school nearby my house has a massive grass area, full of adventure equipment - logs, rope swings, sand pits, large trees, small garden plots, wild flowers and bird feeders, and so many exciting things for the children to play with at playtimes and school holidays.

Our local public footpaths are always busy. One in particular that passes allotments with various small animals there, from fancy hens to bunnies, donkeys and ponies. This is a favourite spot for children, especially when the ponies and donkeys have youngsters in tow, and the baby chicks are in view. No-one can miss the swallows and swifts in that area.

My daughter and her friends always played out in the streets, as did my grandchildren with their friends. TV and computers were for after dark or rainy days. As I write this, there is half a dozen children playing noisily in next door's garden, 3 of them are high up in the old apple tree.

So all is not lost, and maybe it is just a matter of where you live.