If A Child Never Sees The Stars,

In Medieval Times, If Someone Displayed The Symptoms We Now Identify As Boredom, That Person Was Thought To Be Committing Something Called Acedia, A 'dangerous Form Of Spiritual Alienation' -- A Devaluing Of The World And Its Creator.

In A Famous Middletown Study Of Muncie, Indiana, In 1924, Mothers Were Asked To Rank The Qualities They Most Desire In Their Children. At The Top Of The List Were Conformity And Strict Obedience. More Than Fifty Years Later, When The Middletown Survey Was Replicated, Mothers Placed Autonomy And Independence First. The Healthiest Parenting Probably Promotes A Balance Of These Qualities In Children.

We Attempt To Remember Our Collective American Childhood, The Way It Was, But What We Often Remember Is A Combination Of Real Past, Pieces Reshaped By Bitterness And Love, And, Of Course, The Video Past--the Portrayals Of Family Life On Such Television Programs As "leave It To Beaver" And "father Knows Best" And All The Rest.

The Physical Exercise And Emotional Stretching That Children Enjoy In Unorganized Play Is More Varied And Less Time-bound Than Is Found In Organized Sports. Playtime—especially Unstructured, Imaginative, Exploratory Play—is Increasingly Recognized As An Essential Component Of Wholesome Child Development.

Nature-deficit Disorder Describes The Human Costs Of Alienation From Nature, Among Them: Diminished Use Of The Senses, Attention Difficulties, And Higher Rates Of Physical And Emotional Illnesses. The Disorder Can Be Detected In Individuals, Families, And Communities.