Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

Richard Louv

3.95 · Rating details · 11,574 ratings · 1,749 reviews

"I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are," reports a fourth-grader. Never before in history have children been so plugged in—and so out of touch with the natural world. In this groundbreaking new work, child advocacy expert Richard Louv directly links the lack of nature in the lives of today's wired generation—he calls it nature def "I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are," reports a fourth-grader. Never before in history have children been so plugged in—and so out of touch with the natural world. In this groundbreaking new work, child advocacy expert Richard Louv directly links the lack of nature in the lives of today's wired generation—he calls it nature deficit—to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as rises in obesity, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and depression.

Some startling facts: By the 1990s the radius around the home where children were allowed to roam on their own had shrunk to a ninth of what it had been in 1970. Today, average eight-year-olds are better able to identify cartoon characters than native species, such as beetles and oak trees, in their own community. The rate at which doctors prescribe antidepressants to children has doubled in the last five years, and recent studies show that too much computer use spells trouble for the developing mind.

Nature-deficit disorder is not a medical condition; it is a description of the human costs of alienation from nature. This alienation damages children and shapes adults, families, and communities. There are solutions, though, and they're right in our own backyards. Last child in the Woods is the first book to bring together cutting-edge research showing that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development—physical, emotional, and spiritual. What's more, nature is a potent therapy for depression, obesity, and ADD. Environment-based education dramatically improves standardized test scores and grade point averages and develops skills in problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making. Even creativity is stimulated by childhood experiences in nature.

Yet sending kids outside to play is increasingly difficult. Computers, television, and video games compete for their time, of course, but it's also our fears of traffic, strangers, even virus-carrying mosquitoes—fears the media exploit—that keep children indoors. Meanwhile, schools assign more and more homework, and there is less and less access to natural areas.

Parents have the power to ensure that their daughter or son will not be the "last child in the woods," and this book is the first step toward that nature-child reunion. ...more

Get A Copy

Paperback, 310 pages

Published March 17th 2006 by Algonquin Books (first published 2005)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Last Child in the Woods, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about Last Child in the Woods

Lists with This Book

A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There by Aldo Leopold

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Best Environmental Books

902 books — 1,099 voters

Best Nature Books

766 books — 638 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.95 ·

Rating details

· 11,574 ratings · 1,749 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

Sep 27, 2008 Skylar Burris rated it liked it

Shelves: psychology, politics, education, parenting, sociology

This is typical sentence from Last Child in the Woods: "he offered no academic studies to support his theory; nonetheless his statement rang true." That about sums up this book: it's not empirical, but, nonetheless, it rings true'"more or less. Louv draws his conclusions far too widely and gives too much credit to what nature will do for kids, but the general idea rings true. Kids should play in nature '" not because (as Louv questionably implies) it will cure ADHD, make them better athletes, in This is typical sentence from Last Child in the Woods: "he offered no academic studies to support his theory; nonetheless his statement rang true." That about sums up this book: it's not empirical, but, nonetheless, it rings true'"more or less. Louv draws his conclusions far too widely and gives too much credit to what nature will do for kids, but the general idea rings true. Kids should play in nature '" not because (as Louv questionably implies) it will cure ADHD, make them better athletes, increase their math and language test scores, prevent depression, or guarantee great creativity '" but because it's fun, it's freeing, it's healthy, and they're kids, and that's what kids have done for centuries.

The author takes an unfocused and largely anecdotal approach to supporting his argument that playing in nature makes kids better off in a myriad ways. He dubs the results of modern lack of contact with nature "nature deficit disorder." He cites some studies but often ignores the maxim that "correlation does not necessarily imply causation." A typical support goes something like this: look at all these creative people. They used to play in nature as kids. Playing in nature must make people creative. It's rather like picking the most creative people of the current youngest generation and saying '" look at all these creative people. They used to surf the internet as kids! Surfing the internet must have made them creative!

It makes sense, however, that nature would have a calming effect on kids; that balancing on fallen trees as you cross the creek would build coordination, that spending time imbibing the wonders of the great Creator would inspire human creativity. And I join in a feeling of sadness for a world that is largely gone; I want my children to have the childhood I had, spending hours after school exploring the creek with friends, building forts from scratch in the woods, catching waterbus and tadpoles and butterflies, digging pits in the earth, and engaging in neighborhood-wide, week-long war strategy games from patch of woods to patch of woods. I don't necessarily agree with all of his solutions, and I don't think he realizes how large a share of the problem is owing to private familial choice and not external circumstances, but I dearly want my kids to play in nature.

Louv has ideas for improving the problem, but, as is true of most people making public policy proposals, he doesn't really consider the cost or practicality of implementing them. And ultimately it isn't schools or poor city planners that keep kids from nature, it's family culture. And he does mention this: the overscheduling, the fear of allowing children to wander off on their own to explore, and the permissive use of electronic entertainment. But roaming freely in packs from school until dinner time is the way children have always explored nature, so until you change that private family culture of fear, structure, scheduling, and plugging-in, no amount of city planning or tinkering with the public school curriculum is going to address the problem of "nature deficit disorder." This is why I think this is much more a private family issue than a public policy issue, and while I think this book is a good kick in the pants to parents (including me), it's not necessarily a good springboard for policy making, being based almost entirely on emotion rather than reason and lacking sufficient empirical verification of the claimed benefits of free play in nature or evidence that the particular policies he supports really would sufficiently increase free play in nature.

The truth is '" nature is still there. Development has made the areas smaller, but they're there. The very same creek I explored as a child is right where I left it. The question is '" are we individual parents going to allow our kids to explore it on their own and encourage them to? Or are we going to say, I want you home after school, in your room, studying until basketball/football/piano/band practice? Even the author of this book doesn't let his kids explore the canyon behind his own backyard without taking their cell phones, and he has taught them to be appalled by hunting.

Some questions I wished he'd addressed better (or at all):

(1) How much of our perception of the problem might be connected to mere romantic nostalgic longing for our own pasts? I was not born into a world of personal computers (though I got my first in 4th grade) or of the Internet (which I didn't use until college); the world has changed irrevocably, and there is more difference between the childhood lifestyle of my children's generation and my own generation than there was between the childhood of me and my parents, or even me and my grandparents. The talents the future world will demand will be different; we have to acknowledge this and prepare our kids for it.

(2) How much of it is that nature has a calming effect on children, and how much is it that in open spaces, adults are more tolerant of children acting like children? (3) I want my kids to explore nature on their own, but I did this with friends as a kid because this is what kids did. Now, how will my children make and maintain friends spending most of their time doing things most other kids simply aren't doing?

...more

flag 97 likes · Like · see review

Feb 12, 2008 Nicole Johns rated it liked it

Recommends it for: parents, educators, environmentalists, humans

Shelves: women-motherhood

I would give this a 3.5 rating if I was allowed.

After that caveat, I have to say that overall this book left me feeling sad, a little hopeless, nostalgic, grateful, and angry. I had a childhood spent outside; in the fields and woods behind our house and on camping and fishing trips with my Dad. I know how formative these experiences were to my personality, spirituality, politics, and attitude about so many things. I have always pictured my child/ren having a similarly intimate relationship with ...more

flag 35 likes · Like · see review

Apr 29, 2008 Keith rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: science-and-nature

With its heart in the right place, this book needs an editor--it reads like a rambling, book-length review article. I don't dispute the message and there were nuggets of interest (how do we allow for rambunctious play that doesn't hurt habitat?). However, if I were against this or didn't believe the premise, I don't think Louv would have changed my mind. He doesn't makes a strong argument (the evidence is circumstantial and sentimental)--just a long one. You don't need to read this book to know ...more

flag 31 likes · Like · see review

Mar 11, 2008 Nell rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

The idea that struck me the most is that it is not just good for children to be outside in the grass, in the trees, in the creeks, wandering and unstructured--it is vital, as necessary every day as is food, water, and sleep. The accounts of how disconnected today's society has become from nature were dispiriting, although there were also many examples of communities and schools striving to reconnect children to the natural world. I also enjoyed the arguments against several things that drive me ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Feb 02, 2009 Betsy rated it did not like it

Rarely do I quit a book - but I did so with this one. I get what Louv is saying - it would be fair to say he is preaching to the choir. I appreciate the real and rugged outdoors as well as unstructured outdoor play for children. I guess I'd rather read something that challenges my perspective. Unfortunately, that was not what forced me to put this book down. If the babyboomers (that is the author's generation)spent so much wonderful time running around in the undeveloped landscape, how did they ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Oct 10, 2020 Julie rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

The author had me at, "Nature offers healing for a child living in a destructive family or neighborhood." As this is true of my own experience and to this day I revel in the healing properties of walking through woods.

"Given the chance, a child will bring the confusion of the world to the woods, wash it at the creek, turn it over to see what lives on the unseen side of that confusion." I made fairy dells. I still imagine fairies when I see toadstools in the woods.

I will be forever grateful to ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Mar 28, 2009 Audrey rated it really liked it

This book has been criticized because it doesn't really offer empirical evidence, but I think for those of us who spent time wandering the woods (we had 40 acres that I knew like the back of my hand) as kids, we know what a gift that outdoor time can be for kids. That's why this book is a must-read for parents and educators, I think -- to remind us of what's out there and possible and what we've forgotten. It may be that "nature" therapy can work as a form of behavior therapy for ADHD kids -- an ...more

flag 17 likes · Like · see review

Sep 16, 2011 Tim rated it it was amazing

What a significant piece of literature.

At first glance, and even through the first chapter, one could confuse Louv for an overaggressive hippie whose soul purpose is to let mankind wander barefoot while living solely off fruits and berries.

Instead, however, Louv has masterfully woven together monster topics such as parenthood, education, diet, relationships, and even religion--all in one book. This book should be read by all human beings, and I do not mean that in a hyperbolic way. At the very ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Nov 10, 2018 Patrick Henry rated it really liked it · review of another edition

"Yes, how true!" I found myself agreeing with the author' illustrations time and again. For my part, I would never challenge his premise is that kids belong outside. But if someone was skeptical, they would not find Mr. Louv providing the evidence to be convincing.

But who cares? He is right! How our culture of coddling has drained childhood of the thrills and risk of exploring and discovery. I realize even now all the adventure I found in the ravine behind our rental house, and am richer for it ...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

Dec 02, 2010 Becca rated it it was ok

Recommended to Becca by: Homeschool Bookclub

Shelves: didn-t-finish-it, book-club, homeschool-related

This was another book that is based on a great idea that I believe in, but didn't hold my interest. I felt like the author kept leading me along, implying that there was something interesting or substantial coming ahead but it never arrived (at least, not in the first half of the book).

The book talks about how children don't have unstructured outdoor playtime anymore and what impact that may have on them. The author explores many different aspects of this, but everything in the book was anecdot ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Mar 08, 2010 Debbie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: parenting, philosophy-education

Charlotte Mason got it right. Children need the outdoors.

It turns out the outdoors also need children. Richard Louv points out the incongruity behind the environmental extremists who want to set aside nature without allowing mankind to interfere, and the fact that our children aren't experiencing nature first-hand, since they aren't getting the chance to play, live and explore the outdoors unencumbered by interfering adults. This, he says, results in children who have no love for nature and thus ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Jul 10, 2008 Mehrsa rated it really liked it

I think every parent and educator should read this book or at least hear the thesis and give it some thought. The point is that children need nature--especially free play where they can roam and discover and create in the wild and that we, as a society have instilled too much fear of nature in our children and also outlawed a lot of free play and the changing landscape and culture have moved children into cities and away from farms.

The author also claims that this "nature-deficit disorder" is r ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Jul 04, 2008 S. R. rated it really liked it

Now, any book that insists kids should be spending more time playing outside than in front of a screen is, in my case, preaching to the choir. I don't need to be convinced. I need data and ideas and backup.

Louv makes many interesting observations and provides some references to research that supports his claims, but not much in the way of in depth examinations of those studies. (I am a skeptic even when presented with data that backs up my beliefs.) I would have liked to see more of that, but ap ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Apr 09, 2011 Jeffrey rated it did not like it

Do not let the title of this book deceive you. Your children do not suffer from "Nature-Deficit Disorder." In fact, Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, admits his unease with the appropriation of medical science jargon, but says that â€œparents and educatorsâ€ understand the term very clearly.

Unfortunately, that alone does not justify such disingenuous, hyperbolized nomenclature. It does, however, set the tone nicely for his argument that the senses of young Americans are being unn Do not let the title of this book deceive you. Your children do not suffer from "Nature-Deficit Disorder." In fact, Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, admits his unease with the appropriation of medical science jargon, but says that â€œparents and educatorsâ€ understand the term very clearly.

Unfortunately, that alone does not justify such disingenuous, hyperbolized nomenclature. It does, however, set the tone nicely for his argument that the senses of young Americans are being unnaturally dulled by a lack of exposure to the wilds.

Frankly, the arguments put forth to make such a case were very weak and disorganized. Louv is a columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune and this book had all the factual basis that one would expect in a standard sized op-ed piece. The book is full of pull out quotes from seven year olds and grandmother naturalists alike and light on cultural analysis.

And where he does pull together more credible academic research, he consistently fails to provide any sort of critical analysis beyond the same headline producing conclusions that we could expect to read about in a daily newspaper. While he frequently caveats his citations with notes that the research is not definitive or ongoing, he rarely talks about the shortcomings of the works he is relying upon.

He utterly neglects the possibility that his views as a cultural commentator are just that, the product of a very specific American, middle-class culture. He frequently discusses the restorative power that nature experiences have on inner-city youth, never realizing the patronizing tone of such value projection.

Meanwhile he bemoans the loss of the privileged places that natural historians and scout masters once occupied in the hierarchy of the American psyche. His ongoing nostalgia with the tree-houses of his own childhood came across as very generationally specific and I briefly wondered how many grandparents purchased this book impulsively for their own grown children.

And finally, at its heart, this book was profoundly anti-urban. Louv's recipe for an ideal childhood is wholly exurban; the bigger the lot, the better. He claims the environmental high ground without acknowledging the positive effects of density.

The real problem for kids today is not a nature-deficit, but a generation of adults that buys into the simplistic argument that doing things differently than they were done 'back when' is inherently inferior.
(C)Jeffrey L. Otto, October 23, 2007 ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Mar 30, 2017 Marita rated it liked it

Lots of great information, which I appreciated

After reading, I am hovering somewhere between joyous inspiration and the sadness of despair.

I agree fervently with the premise that we as humans need more immersion in nature, but sometimes the prospect seems daunting and overwhelming.

Still, I come away resolved to be more intentional, more purposeful to interact with my environment and to enjoy nature even this week.

Also to up my game and get serious about incorporating nature study in our homesch ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Dec 04, 2008 Carrie Lundell rated it it was amazing

Shelves: new-parent-must-have

I feel like this is a book every parent should read. Personally, I ate it up because he explained in words what I have always felt and wanted for my children. He does back up some of his ideas with research, but also with a lot of anecdotal evidence. I did a lot of underlining and I like to keep the book handy to remind me to make sure my kids get dirty during plenty of unstructured outdoor time.

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jul 05, 2020 Anna Mussmann rated it really liked it

Reading this book made me more grateful than ever to look up and see my children playing in the bushes. We love our yard, but I’ve tended to take outdoor time for granted--after all, I grew up digging holes in the dirt, exploring tidepools, and going camping with my family. It’s both startling and horrifying to be reminded that thousands of American children have no idea what such a life is like, not just because they are cooped up in cities but because they have been indirectly taught to avoid Reading this book made me more grateful than ever to look up and see my children playing in the bushes. We love our yard, but I’ve tended to take outdoor time for granted--after all, I grew up digging holes in the dirt, exploring tidepools, and going camping with my family. It’s both startling and horrifying to be reminded that thousands of American children have no idea what such a life is like, not just because they are cooped up in cities but because they have been indirectly taught to avoid nature as either boring, dangerous, or both.

Louv argues that modern society suffers from a “nature-deficit disorder.” He points out the combination of forces that separate today’s children from meaningful interaction with nature, and argues that this is harmful both to children as individuals and to society as a whole. He also offers a range of ways in which the problem could be remedied. Louv’s solutions include the lifestyle of individual families, but the majority of his focus is on ways schools, towns, and society as a whole could help citizens center our lives around the enjoyment of nature.

I appreciate many of Louv’s points, especially his discussion of the indirect ways that time in nature shapes human beings and helps us in other endeavors. I had to laugh, though, at his cry that scientists need to spend more time rigorously studying the impact of outdoor play on children, because human beings shouldn’t need scientists to tell us obvious truths before we can consider them true. Seriously, people! On the other hand, he is right that the allocation of money and governmental resources are heavily influenced by data.

In some ways, Louv echoes concerns that have been discussed by writers like Anothony Esolen, but this book is much more progressive-friendly and will be palatable and accessible to readers who reject anything that smacks of mere conservative nostalgia for the past. Even though I winced at the suggestion that readers should increase our homeowners’ liability insurance so that they can let children engage in nature play and tree house building, perhaps that’s helpful advice, especially for folks who wouldn’t otherwise dare let kids in trees.

Overall, an inspiring thesis and very important message for modern American parents to consider.
...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Feb 05, 2021 Frances Eastol rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Read this for my dissertation, very interesting but wouldn’t recommend for light reading or for pleasure lol

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Sep 04, 2017 Dan rated it liked it

Shelves: environment

I did not enjoy this book although the idea of kids spending more time with nature is laudable and incontrovertible. I found the book a little preachy and poorly written. Reading the prose felt like I was reading a series of presentation slides some of which were grammatically incorrect.

The author's message that kids have too many electronics and marginal time communing with nature is certainly true for most. However it shouldn't require 300 pages to make this point. The book is formulaic in na ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Sep 08, 2008 Cynthia rated it it was amazing

This one is a must read for anyone with children of their own, children in their life, teachers... Actually this is for all humans who grew up with or without nature...
It shows the shift in how children were relating to the outdoors 40 years ago and how they are today. It explores the effects that technology and too much time inside is having on young lives and on the life of the planet.... It is hart warming and funny, it will bring you to tears and make you get outside yourself and take some ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 18, 2020 Fox rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: psychology, non-fiction, library, 2020, science, otherworld-exotics

I stand right on the edge of being the generation talked about in this book. I am young enough that I can remember a time without a computer in the house, where I wasn't hooked up to the internet the way I am now. I can remember a time before wireless phones, caller ID, cell phones, and all of that. I'm old enough to be a bit concerned when I see kids spending all of their time in social gatherings on tablets, but also young enough that I'm sure I was That Kid only on a cellphone rather than a t I stand right on the edge of being the generation talked about in this book. I am young enough that I can remember a time without a computer in the house, where I wasn't hooked up to the internet the way I am now. I can remember a time before wireless phones, caller ID, cell phones, and all of that. I'm old enough to be a bit concerned when I see kids spending all of their time in social gatherings on tablets, but also young enough that I'm sure I was That Kid only on a cellphone rather than a tablet. It's an interesting conundrum.

All of that being said, as I read this book I understood the problem that Richard Louv is diagnosing when he talks about Nature-Deficit Disorder. I've talked to people only a little bit younger than me about nature and been mildly horrified when they've expressed not only zero interest in the environment, but also zero concern about it or desire to do anything to improve it. The notion of stewardship over local ecology is one that came to me naturally, something ingrained in me growing up gardening alongside my mom and exploring the forest behind our house before it got developed to be turned into another suburban community. I still feel the loss of that forest, where although I was terrified I climbed fallen trees. I still feel a draw to it, even though it's gone. It's part of why I live out in the middle of nowhere now, to be reconnected to the land. Hell, it's part of why I want to call Montana my home once more.

Richard Louv makes a lot of bold claims in the book about the benefits that being in nature instill in children (and people in general.) He claims that being in nature helps restore focus to children with ADHD (to a decent extent, although acknowledges continued medication is likely needed), that it offers up a kind of secular spiritual experience, helps children develop confidence, curiosity, and a sense of place nothing else quite replaces. I can track how being in nature helped me develop, and I can say that learning about it is something that I'm still passionate about today. I can also note how relationships with animals and a closer attachment to nature has helped me with mental health problems of my own, and others I know. Maybe there's something there to it? Yet it's difficult to test.

All in all, this book is an interesting one that also paints a road forward towards a better relationship with nature. The book postulates an optimistic vision of the future - nature centric experiential learning in schools, less laws prohibiting natural play, green urbanization, and more sustainable living practices. I would like to see this come to fruition, though it would require a drastic paradigm shift in our current culture not only here in the West but in the world in general. Still, it is possible. We just need enough people to try.

This book gave me a lot of ideas for how to build my own little rescue and how I talk to kids and what experiences I can offer them when they come to my meet and greets. I can say that just last week, handing a child a disarticulated rat skeleton to play wish, I saw her work with it with a sense of wonder that was truly unique. To think she was trusted with something so delicate, and that she could manipulate it and see how it worked... it was something cool, and something I hope to bring to others more often.

So, yes, if you're the parent of young children or someone who works with them often - give this book a try, or at least a flip through. It might give you more ideas about how to interact with them and new ways to expose them to the natural world on their own level.

Also, keep telling them to go play outside and encourage their unstructured play. Someday, maybe they start and they won't want to stop. ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 25, 2019 Sarah Howard rated it liked it

While the information was very insightful and made me want to be engaged more in nature and not be just a spectator, the chapters at times felt disjointed and some information almost out of place with the rest of the information. Overall I learned a lot about getting back into nature and it’s overall healthy effects on our bodies both physically, mentally and emotionally.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

May 11, 2008 Tony Cohen rated it liked it

A book I strongly recommend, although I wish the information/research/extrapolation was farther long the developmental cycle. In a nutshell, the author coins the term 'nature deficit disorder' was some sort of easy-to-use term to somewhat anchor his still developing notions that children need unfettered time in un-organised nature. They need to be able to play in the margins, where the truly interesting stuff is happening (one study among scant few mentioned [for reasons that I will discuss late A book I strongly recommend, although I wish the information/research/extrapolation was farther long the developmental cycle. In a nutshell, the author coins the term 'nature deficit disorder' was some sort of easy-to-use term to somewhat anchor his still developing notions that children need unfettered time in un-organised nature. They need to be able to play in the margins, where the truly interesting stuff is happening (one study among scant few mentioned [for reasons that I will discuss later] was that children in the rubble of WW!! Europe preferred the wild spots to the undamaged concrete) The book is riddled with anecdotes about the changes in youthful patterns of interaction with nature, and the scary declines in that area: how children who once grew up with time alone in nature now spend it near the ubiquitous and ESSENTIAL electrical socket. Of course, there is a cavalcade of potentially damaging implications to our behavioural changes, few if any of which have yet been subjected to strict scientific rigor.

There is some further effective commentary on the potential problems with development when we minimize our sensory input solely to the visual medium, which is the ever-increasing and general trend of our societies. There is also further tidbit relating to learning effectiveness and behaviours when there is a more ecological bent, and the scary decline in peoples' knowledge of the natural sciences (again a symbol of early play with nature) in lieu of a more recent molecular dominance. As vignettes go, one particularly memorable one was how, do to our society's fears and litigiousness, we have actually, legally, made it very hard to have unfetterd play with significant potential monetary penalties upon whose land fun can be had, which is a trend that we clearly need to reverse!

It is a strong book, but there is not enough hard science to back up all the interesting (and there are many of them) theories, but this book is important because it is putting the ideas out there. Along a paradigm, the early adopters will have to be preaching into an unknown before what they consider common-sense is put to the hard science test. I do feel that many of these ideas, and damning trends the author warns about, will one day be reversed when the science manages to catch up a bit more with what can only be fairly described now as very intelligent conjecture. In general, Americans should be worried, and Singapore should be absolutely shitting themselves; it is hard to even conceive of a place which more marginalizes 'wild' nature in lieu of a nicely manicured lawn. ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 29, 2007 Kim rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Eco-minded parents

As a reader, a would-be environmentalist, and a mom, I felt like Richard Louv was writing this book for me. Like so many other former kids who remember lazy days of running free through the woods, wading in streams, and catching toads and butterflies, I am saddened by our current video-game culture in which kids have more electronics than they know what to do with and yet are utterly bored (I have a teenage nephew; I've seen it with my own eyes). I hate the fact that parents can no longer let th ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 23, 2009 Meredith rated it did not like it

Recommended to Meredith by: Stephanie

Shelves: library, parenting

I can only echo what other reviewers have said. He brings up an important issue, but does a miserable job of it. Louv bases most of his arguments on "intuition" and terrible logic. The worst of his arguments is that

a)children with autism and ADHD can control their behavior and symptoms better when they're outside.
b)there's a lot more autism and ADHD than there used to be.
c)we don't play outside as much as we used to.
d)not playing outside CAUSES autism and ADHD.

?????

That's a characteristic argum ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 27, 2016 Bambi Moore rated it it was ok

Shelves: education

The best thing about this book is the title and quote from a child who said he likes to play inside because "that's where all the electrical outlets are." As a Christian my motivation for the children in my life to know the wonder of God's creation, is in order to glorify Him more, give Him praise for all that borrows life from Him, and see His great power and might in all of creation. Not bond with an iceberg (yes it really said that somewhere). There were some interesting studies regarding ch ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 27, 2007 Joy rated it it was amazing

I picked this book up at Mt. Rainier while I was waiting in line to pay for a National Park passport for Rebecca. One of my biggest struggles living in Indiana has been having the knowledge that outdoor opportunities for Rebecca are much more limited in scope than that which I grew up with. The environmental ethic is much different and ultimately I want more for Rebecca than what she is being exposed to. I've tried, to the best of my ability, to provide her with opportunities and think given my ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 08, 2016 Denise Spicer rated it really liked it

Discussion of why our children no longer play outside, the health (physical and mental) benefits of interacting with nature and ways to encourage kids and communities to reconnect with and the outdoor world. Lots of anecdotal comments to prove his points along with the legal aspects that must be considered nowadays. The author gives examples of natural schools and urban wild spaces. The author does show his political and philosophic biases (environmentalism, feminism, socialism) but overall this ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 09, 2013 Arie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, nature-non-fic

Sobering and inspiring in equal parts. A little too focused on the United States for me to totally relate (examples of canyons etc had to be translated in my mind into more familiar territory, which made it a slow read in the end) but overall this is a very necessary read.

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 26, 2008 Heather rated it liked it

An interesting commentary on how our children experience the outdoors, and the effects of that experience.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
leeds steiner sch...: Last child in the woods discussion	1	14	Feb 01, 2013 09:25AM
Nature disorde	1	38	Dec 09, 2007 12:05PM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Parenting

667 users

Nonfiction

562 users

Environment > Nature

258 users

Education

210 users

Environment

98 users

Science

97 users

Psychology

77 users

Nature > Outdoors

35 users

Childrens

35 users

Teaching

35 users

See top shelves…

About Richard Louv

Richard Louv

215 followers

Richard Louv (born 1949) is a journalist and author of books about the connections between family, nature and community. His book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder (Algonquin), translated into 9 languages and published in 13 countries, has stimulated an international conversation about the relationship between children and nature.

Books by Richard Louv

The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder

Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life

Our Wild Calling: How Connecting with Animals Can Transform Our Lives—and Save Theirs

The Web of Life: Weaving the Values That Sustain Us

Fly-Fishing for Sharks: An American Journey

More…

News & Interviews

Kazuo Ishiguro: A Dystopian Book in Dystopian Times

Kazuo Ishiguro insists he’s an optimist about technology. “I'm not one of these people who thinks it's going to come and destroy us,” he...

Trivia About Last Child in the...

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Last Child in the...

“An environment-based education movement--at all levels of education--will help students realize that school isn't supposed to be a polite form of incarceration, but a portal to the wider world.” — 50 likes

“The woods were my Ritalin. Nature calmed me, focused me, and yet excited my senses.” — 46 likes

More quotes…

See a Problem?

Preview — Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About Richard Louv

Books by Richard Louv

News & Interviews

Trivia About Last Child in the...

Quotes from Last Child in the...

See a Problem?

Preview — Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About Richard Louv

Books by Richard Louv

News & Interviews

Trivia About Last Child in the...

Quotes from Last Child in the...

new topic
Discuss This Book