science

Last Child in the Woods

Last Child in the Woods is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Last Child in the Woods rather than just read about it. In short: Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder is a 2005 book by author Richard Louv that documents decreased exposure of children to nature in American society and how this "nature-deficit disorder" harms children and society. The author also suggests solutions to the problems he describes.

Key takeaways

Last Child in the Woods belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Last Child in the Woods to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Last Child in the Woods from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder is a 2005 book by author Richard Louv that documents decreased exposure of children to nature in American society and how this "nature-deficit disorder" harms children and society. The author also suggests solutions to the problems he describes. A revised and expanded edition was published in 2008.

Synopsis In the book, Louv argues that modern children are increasingly separated from nature compared to previous generations and that direct outdoor experience is essential for healthy development. He draws on research suggesting that reduced exposure to natural environments contributes to behavioral and emotional problems in children and that exposure can be therapeutic for children and adults suffering from traumatic stress, depression, obesity and many other disorders. Louv introduces the term "nature-deficit disorder" to describe the growing disconnection and writes that it affects "health, spiritual well-being, and many other areas, including [people's] ability to feel ultimately alive." Louv argues imaginative outdoor play have been displaced by organized activities such as sports, electronic media, and parental fears about safety. He attributes these shifts to cultural anxieties, media sensationalism, and restrictions that limit children's access to natural spaces. Louv notes that these government imposed restrictions, such as regulations on treehouse construction and limits that discourage children from roaming in the nearby woods, further reduce opportunities for unstructured outdoor play. Louv argues that classrooms have likewise become increasingly sanitized, with outdoor learning and natural sciences removed or reduced to make room for preparation for standardized testing. Demonstrating the appeal of indoor activities, one fifth grader stated, "I like to play indoors better ’cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are." Louv further asserts that statistical dangers associated with outdoor play are very low and that media sensationalism has fueled disproportionate fears about children's safety.

Reception The book was on the New York Times Best Seller list for best paper nonfiction. The author received the Audubon Medal "for sounding the alarm about the health and societal costs of children's isolation from the natural world—and for sparking a growing movement to remedy the problem." During the second Obama administration, Sally Jewell, a CEO of REI and Obama's secretary of the interior, took an REI daypack filled with copies of Louv's book, went to the White House, and handed them out to staff and the President.

Versions English: The Last Child in the Woods, Hardcover (April 15, 2005), ISBN 978-1-56512-391-5 Paperback Updated and Expanded (April 10, 2008), ISBN 978-1-56512-605-3 audio CD: Recorded Books; Unabridged edition (December 20, 2007), ISBN 978-1-4281-6967-8 Japanese: Anatano Kodomoniwa Shizenga Tarinai, Hardcover (July 20, 2006), ISBN 978-4152087515

Children & Nature Network The success of Last Child in the Woods inspired the creation of Children & Nature Network co-founded and chaired by the book's author, Richard Louv, to encourage and support the people and organizations working to reconnect children with nature.

Green Hour Green Hour is an organization that provides information on how to reverse Nature-Deficit Disorder, and encourages parents to let their children explore and reconnect with the outdoors.

See also Nature Cat, a TV series inspired by the story

References

External links Official website for the book Today Show. July 16, 2008. Morning Edition, National Public Radio. May 25, 2005 KQED. May 12, 2008

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Last Child in the Woods

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Last Child in the Woods claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Last Child in the Woods before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Last Child in the Woods ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Last Child in the Woods

In research: Last Child in the Woods appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Last Child in the Woods in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Last Child in the Woods is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2005 in the environment, 2005 non-fiction books, 2008 in the environment, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Last Child in the Woods outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Last Child in the Woods in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Last Child in the Woods means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Last Child in the Woods out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Last Child in the Woods in simple terms?

Why does Last Child in the Woods matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Last Child in the Woods?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Last Child in the Woods.