Last Child in the Woods

[smslavin]

Has anyone read Last Child in the Woods? What are your thoughts? I just started reading it yesterday and lots of passages are resonating with me. Maybe it's our current position in life. Maybe it's because my oldest daughter is 8 and she's never seen snow. Maybe it's the megalopolis of Southern California. It's all of those reasons and more.

So, what are you doing to cure your child of nature deficit disorder?

[007]

I take my 3 yr old with me on most trips. She was upset that I left her recently on a big game hunt, so we went out and shot a grouse. I showed her how to dress it out and we sautéed it with mushrooms and beer and loved it.

She really appreciates the outdoors and is always asking about the next trip...which is coming up soon in Death valley :)

[styx]

I live in Northern Nevada, so not a real problem here. I always wish I could get out even more though.

[Moody]

I give that book to friends and family that have children. Fantastic book. There is an updated version I just saw at a bookstore locally here...mine is the last edition.

[smslavin]

She really appreciates the outdoors and is always asking about the next trip...which is coming up soon in Death valley :)

That's awesome. Within the past few months, partly due to our current living situation, I've been getting my girls out as often as I can. It could be a trip to the desert or a run down the street for a hike around the lagoon. Our last trip out to the desert was a great experience for all 3 of our girls.


Fantastic book.

The book is partially fueling are current thinking of moving out of SoCal. Besides not being able to afford it any longer, I'm finding the density slightly suffocating.

[nwoods]

The book is partially fueling are current thinking of moving out of SoCal. Besides not being able to afford it any longer, I'm finding the density slightly suffocating.

Where would you go? With your ocean oriented lifestyle, where can you go in the US that offers what SoCal does? I am not jesting here, I am asking myself that same question, for all the same reasons. I just haven't found a place that compares well on all the positives.

[MuckSavage]

I haven't read it, but I've read alot about it in everything from here, to local newspaper to the Appalachian Mountain Club Magazine. I plan on buying a copy for my brother-in-law & his son, who's 11. (I'll read it first) The boy always shows an interest in going out with me, whether it be hunting, geocaching, or just out for a ride. My bro-in-law would rather tell him to play his video game. Matter of fact, they bought a GPS to try geocaching. In a week my bro-in-law returned the GPS & brought the kid video games.

Sad, Sad thing that's happening to out kids.

[preacherman]

I read it and loved it. We already camp quite a bit with our boys, but the book has given me a reminder that they need to turn off the video games and go outside more. They have been spending more time in the backyard lately playing with the dogs and building forts.

I enjoyed the book a lot and it made me rethink how often I "push" my kids outside.

[smslavin]

Where would you go? With your ocean oriented lifestyle, where can you go in the US that offers what SoCal does? I am not jesting here, I am asking myself that same question, for all the same reasons. I just haven't found a place that compares well on all the positives.

I have enough outdoor activity interests that I could trade the ocean for something else, like snow. I had been an avid backcountry skier for years. The feeling I get from skiing is very very similar to what I get from surfing. We're currently looking into CO (have been for a couple of years now). The cost of a surf trip is way less than the cost of a ski trip with a family of 5. ;)

Being up there would give the girls larger and easier access to the outdoors. The areas we're looking into all pretty much have the woods right out the backdoor. Giving the girls a yard to play in would be huge as that isn't something they've ever had.

[Riptide]

I have the book, but haven't read it yet. Every time I think about sitting down to read it, I think, if I have time to READ about taking my kid outdoors, then I have time to take my kid outdoors. So off we go...

I get to it this winter. I suspect it will resonate with me, as well...

[kjp1969]

Where would you go? With your ocean oriented lifestyle, where can you go in the US that offers what SoCal does? I am not jesting here, I am asking myself that same question, for all the same reasons. I just haven't found a place that compares well on all the positives.

Seriously, where else can you live by the ocean, drive two hours and be in the local mountains, Joshua Tree, Mojave or Anza Borrego. Drive North a little further and you're amid the redwoods or the Sierras. Drive South and you're in Mexico.

If you're not out-and-about enough in SoCal, a change in location probably will not fix the problem.

[Paladin]

I guess I'll be the lone voice in saying I'm slightly disappointed by the book. I wanted to love it. But I find it's very cerebral. It just goes on and on, talking about this study and that study, and this expert and that one. It's very academic. I was hoping for something much more... hands-on.

[Rufjeep]

Seriously, where else can you live by the ocean, drive two hours and be in the local mountains, Joshua Tree, Mojave or Anza Borrego. Drive North a little further and you're amid the redwoods or the Sierras. Drive South and you're in Mexico.

If you're not out-and-about enough in SoCal, a change in location probably will not fix the problem.

We chose Chattanooga, TN over San Diego and couldn't be happier- world class whitewater, great mountain biking, good climbing/ bouldering, and tons of hiking and backpacking trails. It may not be the ocean, but it aint badd.

[rusty_tlc]

I think this explains why the people who want to limit access and close areas off to the public are so successful;


Instead of passing summer months hiking, swimming and telling stories around the campfire, children these days are more likely to attend computer camps or weight-loss camps: as a result, Louv says, they've come to think of nature as more of an abstraction than a reality

As long as we can watch a show on the Discovery channel or view a slide show on the internet why do people need to actually go to these places? It's much better to close them off and preserve them.

[Spicy McHaggis]

Haven't read it...but seeing as how we live in Alaska, I'm not so sure much of it would apply to my hunting/fishing/hiking/camping kids (and parents!).

[61rover]

The passage the really got me was about how children "...can tell you volumes about polar bears and the rainforest, but nothing about the field behind their house." That really struck me.

[dtotheatothevtothee]

I bought it, skimmed it but haven't read it. Like the person that posted before me said...if you have time to sit down and read about it you should just do the real thing!

I'm on a business trip to San Antonio, but I'll be back for the weekend. I told my 5 year-old boy that we are going 4-wheeling in my new FJ60 that I picked up last week. He's pretty excited!

And mandatory pic of my new rig.... :smiley_drive:

[Harmgrissom]

(first post)

Live in Southern Arizona and all my friends gave me grief for NOT buying a house in Phoenix Metro Proper and instead bought in a town 20 miles south in the middle of the desert.

Now the first reason was economic - I didn't want to be up to my eyeballs in debt affording a moderate home in town when out of town was much more affordable. But second and most important to me was elbow room. I can be in the desert camping, shooting, off-roading, trail riding or other activity in less than 10 minutes from my driveway.

I've been pavement bound since I sold my Grand Cherokee several years ago and just recently picked up a 96 XJ/Cherokee and my kids are its biggest fans (I love it but its a tad small for my build - I'll cope). We go out for several hours almost every weekend. Together we've found old abandoned homes, animal skeletons, and other abandoned "treasures" that they've been extremely excited about. Its been great to see how much they love it. Thats why I bought the Jeep.

I try explaining this to my friends in town with more money into their rigs - but never see dirt or sand and they just don't seem to get it. Sad really. I offer to trade but they think I'm joking.

[xtatik]

With my daughter it was unavoidable. Her dad (me) could never sit still. She'd been to Joshua Tree on climbing trips that her mom and I would take a few times each year. Here first trip was when she was only a few months old.
I surf and I used to compete in spearfishing meets in the 80' and 90's so she got an early intro into marine biology. We'd play in the tidepools after my meets and she'd pick up and handle any creature I'd pull up (basically, everything). Later, she would venture out and actually go freediving with me. She wasn't keen on killing or capturing anything though, and although she was always proud of dad for dragging a decent fish onto the beach, occasionally she would give me some stink-eye. During her Summer vacation between junior and senior high school years, we made a trip to the Galapagos Islands and it was a great learning experience for both of us.
She'd go flyfishing with me as well, and has turned out to be pretty good at it.
After her mom and I split, her mom moved the two of them to Denver. My ex continued to climb, so my daughter took up climbing and still continues to do so.
Being the only kid, the poor thing had to put up with being a bit of a tomboy for dad's sake in her early years. Now she's off to ASU and in the end she's turning out very well.
As for the book...never read it, but I've read about it. I also recall seeing an interview with the author on TV. All that I've experienced or gathered on the subject I'd agree with....kids NEED to have these experiences.

[Greggk]

I know its not exactly what you were asking, but my kids if they wanna wander away from the campsite any more then 100 meters, they gotta take the walkie talkie with them and their little Bug Out Bag, which has things they need in case something happens to them.