As an acute observer of life I have watched Nature Deficit Disorder creep into our daily lives. At first there was a slow trickle of disconnection through the technology revolution and now the disconnection is encouraged, applauded and sought after. Intuitively I have always understood Nature Deficit Disorder, however I was not aware that others had a name for this disorder until Wolf Starchild spoke of it during his ITTV Show interview. Wolf’s look on life is refreshing and inspiring and what he teaches is so vital for our future.
I have copied an article by Sally Deneen from http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/definitions/nature-deficit-disorder#ixzz1YOTWbVpB below. Sally gives a researched summary of Nature Deficit Disorder where as my comments are smothered down screams. I am extremely passionate about children being given the best environment to thrive in and in the vital connection we all must have with our Mother. However, I am also very sensitive to each of our own freedoms and if parents choose to play DVD’s in a car rather than speak to their kids, play I-spy, sing songs and tell stories… who am I to judge….whoops sorry, just did!
I am treading a very fine line with my comments here because being hooked up to screens 24 hours in temperature controlled environments, surrounded by synthetic building materials with recycled air is more common than not. So my rather old fashioned opinions about living life to the fullest run contrary to our modern quest for gadgets and comfort. Firstly I would like to point out that NDD does not only affect children. I would like to be as bold as to state that across the board, humans are being affected by this disappointing trend of unplugging from the natural living world and plugging into the virtual, man made world. Adults create this disconnected existence and unfortunately their children blindly follow.
What many consider modern day conveniences I see as a plague. I know the majority of the modern world’s population is following the tech trend and so I will leave my judgements to my own head space. Each has a right to their own journey… I suppose I only ask that parents look at their children and in their hearts do what’s best for their child, and if sitting them in front of electrical devices for hours each day is what a parent chooses to do, then I feel so very sorry for the child. As Wolf states in his interview, 
“stop and your world will change”. I challenge each and every family to spend one entire day each week without electrical gadgets spending the day outside connecting with nature and connecting with each other, the natural way. Firstly I would be currious to hear if this challenge is difficult for some and secondly I would be curious to know if this simple change had positive impact on your family life? I am not psychic but I believe I know the answer already.
Love to all.
Amy
Nature Deficit Disorder
