“Gardens grow vegetables; technology turns us into vegetables.”
— Nancy Sleeth, author
Just the holiday leftovers included three bags of Scoops, a 46-ounce container of cashews, a bag of Skinny Popcorn, a half-indulged container of coffee and cookies ice cream and half a bag of empty Coke cans. We had previously consumed two packages of slice and bake chocolate-chip cookies and a box of Jimmy Dean’s maple pancakes and sausage. Our youngest guest, a 1-year-old, brought her own age-appropriate snacks packaged individually with names like Yogurt Melts.
Over the same weekend, I took time to catch up on a stack of magazine articles. Several of the articles were on healthy eating, which caused some discomfort as I alternated my attention from junk food to food statistics.
In her book “Almost Amish,” Nancy Sleeth says, “E. O. Wilson is a biologist at Harvard who believes human beings have an innate attraction to nature. He calls this attraction biophilia. Oliver R. W. Pergams and Patricia A Zaradic are two researchers who came up with a related word, videophilia. They use this term to describe our attraction to electronic media. … We are spending less time in parks, less time camping and hiking and less time in unstructured outdoor play because videophilia is replacing biophilia.”
Considering Nancy Sleeth’s statement, “If … children were harvesting potatoes after school instead of potato chips, their health would benefit,”
And considering children are out of school for the summer and many will be spending time with parents and caretakers, perhaps Nancy’s six suggestions could provide a fun and healthy focus:
Grow a garden. Start small; grow anything, something to eat, to touch or look at.
Pack a picnic. Go to a park, playground, cemetery or stay in the backyard. Spread out a blanket. Try a PLT (pickle, lettuce and tomato) sandwich. Invite friends and neighbors. Spend time together talking.
Pick up trash. Take a walk with a garbage bag and pick up trash. Sam and I made a game while camping. Who could find the most unusual piece of trash? We scoured the woods and rock piles. Sam found a toaster; then I found a stove! Then the park ranger called out, “Watch out for them rattlers down there.” Might be best to pick a place you’re familiar with.
Plant a tree. Not just in your own neighborhood but in a section of town that could use more trees. Trees give shade, increase home values, reduce crime, clean the air, hold tree houses and kids and provide beauty.
Work outdoors. Giving kids chores teaches them important lessons about staying on tasks, teamwork, taking responsibility, safety rules, delayed satisfaction and positive feedback. Accomplishing tasks increases skills and confidence.
Play outdoors. Play exercises the body and the imagination. Climb a tree, ride a bike, make a rope swing, dig for treasure, pick dandelions, play in the leaves, fly a kite.
Sleeth reminds us, “The possibilities are as big as all outdoors if we do not zap our imaginations with digital addictions.”
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