A Life to Live
Melody Hendrix
Many children today have little contact with the natural world.The average 8 to 10 year-old spends nearly eight hours a day with a variety of different media, and older children and teenagers spend more than 11 hours per day.” Television, long a popular “babysitter,” remains the dominant medium, but computers, tablets and cellphones are gradually taking over. Many come to view the real world as fake.
Electronics plays a role in the rising rates of childhood obesity, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), depression, and other social, physical and developmental issues. It’s about the future — not just for young people but for the entire planet. “If we raise a generation of kids whose activities are all indoors, they’ll never develop a relationship with the environment — they’ll see no reason to care. Connecting kids to the out of doors in a way that makes them realize, ‘this is fun, this is a place I want to be’ — that’s going to create a generation of environmental stewards.”
We must teach our children how to connect with nature and care about earth. Let them get dirty, really dirty. Electronics are good, but not when they never have a chance to connect with nature and God our Creator, their senses will never be awaken by the abundant life surrounding them. They will never wander longingly through the forest in search of mystery. They will never experience peace, beauty and gentleness that comes from that which God has made for our pleasure. This image of my granddaughter, was taken at Lukas Nursery’s butterfly conservatory in Oviedo. It’s a wonderful place to give your kids a camera and let them touch nature and take pictures of flowers and butterflies. Go in the gift shop and buy a little butterfly house and raise some butterflies. They will tell you how. It’s a beautiful world. Let’s wake up everyday and be thankful for it and find a way to share it with our children.
I am retired and enjoying life. My hobbies are my 5 grandchildren, son and daughter, and my loving husband. I am a photographer and extreme nature lover. I love spending time in my garden or in the wilderness connected to God my Creator.
Tags: Butterflies, Children and nature, Inspirational photoblogger, Lukas Nursery, nature, Nature photograph
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