Our children do not know nature, they prefer to stay at home in front of video games and TV series rather than playing outdoors. And what if this lack of relationship with nature was the basis of some behavioral disorders, cause of obesity afflicting the West and allergies and asthma?
This is the idea of Richard Louv, author of ‘Last Child in the Woods: SavingOur Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder‘ and other books on pedagogy and social ecology, as well as adviser for the National Scientific Council, founder of the Children and Nature Network, editorialist of the ‘New York Times’ and of the ‘Christian Science Monitor’. The book is from 2005 and over the years has achieved great success, but has also been confirmed by various scientific researches.
The writer calls it Nature Deficit Disorder and it may affect disorders such as ADHD. Some research conducted by Andrea Farber Taylor, Frances E. Kuo and William C. Sullivan also show that the more natural a child’s everyday environment is, the easier it is to manage the symptoms of attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. Nancy Wells and Gary Evans instead confirmed that the presence of woods and green spaces can reduce stress even in the youngest.
So let’s raise our children in the woods, on the trees, in the meadows. Let’s stop growing a generation for which nature is no longer a home, a family environment, but something foreign, often seen as dangerous. Children need not only proper nutrition and daily care, but also an outdoor run, playing in the woods, discovering the water of a lake or the sea. Contact with nature can foster creativity, the ability to solve problems, concentration, the joy of living.
Ideas for a vacation in the woods with your children
It is something to be rediscovered every day, but also on vacation. So here are 5 ideas for holidays in the woods for the whole family, to bring children closer to nature.
A week in the woods of La Magdeleine
Hotel Miravidi offers an offer designed just for children, to let them experience the beneficial beauty of nature. During the week, while adults rediscover well-being with emotional trekking and forest bathing, children have fun with laboratories and lots of games in contact with nature! An unmissable opportunity to reconnect the whole family with nature and discover one of the most beautiful Alpine Pearls in the Val d’Aosta.
Learn about country life just a few kilometers from the city
Even just outside Milan it is possible to bring children closer to nature: Cascina Santa Brera organizes many workshops for children and their parents, who can take care of the garden together, approach the farm’s donkeys and horses, play in the woods and in the orchards or follow the tracks of wild animals.
An educational farm in the mountains of Trentino
La Fonte farmhouse is located at 700 meters above sea level, in an enchanting landscape between mountains and woods, just a few steps away from a stream. Here the children will be able to discover how we eat thanks to nature, milk the cows, gather nuts and learn about the wonders of life in nature.
A vacation in an organic farm immersed in Montalbano Rural Park
A nice walk among stables, fences and shelters to learn about animals, an hour of meditation lying in the woods or even the experience of making cheese. Where? At Oasi Agrituristica Baugiano, accommodation and educational farm located in the plain of Pistoia, Prato and Florence, 300 meters above sea level and only 5 minutes from the center of Quarrata.
Running among the meadows in Veneto
Hidden among the Asolo Hills, there is another organic farm perfect to allow our children to get closer to nature and discover its wonders. Ca’ Corniani offers numerous activities for children of all ages, who can live true emotions and experience new things.
Cascina Santa Brera – Green Farm house in San Giuliano Milanese, Milano, Lombardia, IT 
Agriturismo Ca' Corniani Monfumo – Green Farm house in Monfumo, TV, Veneto, IT 
Oasi Agrituristica Baugiano – Green Farm house in Quarrata, Pistoia, Toscana, IT 
