National Wildlife Week coming up

National Wildlife Federation is urging parents to allow their kids to learn, explore, discover the great outdoors

This excerpt is from an article appearing in The Times-Picayune

If you believe your children are spending too much time indoors these days, it's time to plan a trip to the outdoors during the upcoming National Wildlife Week March 15-21.

The special week is held annually to encourage parents to allow their kids to learn, explore, discover and imagine outdoor things surrounded by a world of green. The 2010 theme, "Be Out There At Home, School and Play," will bring children and their families together in nature, get schools involved in going green, and will show kids how the outdoors can be a favorite play space.

The inaugural National Wildlife Week observance took place more than 70 years ago when kids spent time climbing trees, skipping stones, and running barefoot in the grass.

But times have changed. Today's average child spends just 4-7 minutes outside each day. Today's video savvy child spends an embarrassing 7 hours and 38 minutes a day flipping fingers with electronic media, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

"We're raising a generation of indoor children who are missing out on the simple joys found in nature," said Rebecca Garland, executive director of NWF's Be Out There movement. "Our kids need to know why they call it the great outdoors."

Read the full article...