When I started in pediatric practice over 30 years ago, the wellness movement for adults was a new fad. I was hopeful that parents would pay more attention to their health, lead healthier lifestyles and set good examples for their children. Unfortunately, the adult population has only become more sedentary and obese. Even worse, we’ve seen the same downward spiral in wellness in children.

As a pediatrician, it’s been distressing to watch the general wellness of my patients decline over the years. But that distress has turned into a determination to identify the causes for these unfortunate trends.

Of course, there is a multitude of causes. To a large part, I believe the trends are due to increased technology. But I believe that it is not just the increase in screen time, but the lack of connection to nature.  This connection is so much more crucial for children, because the lack thereof, affects their potential development—emotional, physical and spiritual.

I had a deep desire to increase awareness nationwide about Nature-Deficit Disorder in our children. As I studied and prayed about it, I felt that I was instructed by a Higher Power to bicycle across the US to make the issue more well known to parents and all other caretakers of children: teachers, doctors, school administrators, politicians, grandparents, foster parents and many others.

Read the full article about trying to connect kids to the outdoors by Suzanne B. Monaghan at Children & Nature Network.