The Importance of Exposing Kids to the Great Outdoors in Kristof's Article "How to Lick a Slug"

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Recommended: Impact of media on child development

The debate over technology being healthy for our children has been a debate that has gone on for years. It appears as though the tragedy that children are missing out on hands-on nature is definitely something we all must learn to accept. Nicholas D. Kristof hits the nail on the head when he suggest that we try to preserve nature but we don’t promote natural activity such as hiking, biking, camping, and “discovering the hard way what a wasp nest looks like”. Kristof does an effective job getting the point across on experiencing nature and limiting technology. He is a father that is destined for his young daughter to know about the outdoors with personal experimentation. Kristof’s intended audience is geared toward people that want their children and themselves to be involved in nature, but they have been consumed with this technological age.

He begins trying to appeal to his audience by first, giving an example of how he and his daughter went on a camping trip and a twenty mile hike. They ended up sleeping outdoors and enjoyed the star filled night. He stresses that being in the wilderness is part of his family’s summer ritual. He is determined not to let the technologies of the world be the only experience his daughter has. He feels as though his summer ritual is a vacation from all the hustle and bustle of the lives we live today. He says it’s like taking a break from the cell phones, computers, and the strain of the world we live in on a daily basis.

He states that natural experiences offer us lessons on keeping in touch with our inner-selves and how important it is that our children have the same experiences that we have had in the past. He also adds that this is a cheap and effective therapy without the lazin...

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...ncludes that one of the many problems could be that American environmental movement has focused on preserving nature so much that it has failed to preserve a love for being out in nature. He admits that preserving nature is not the only important factor, and that the real misfortune lies in not being a part of nature.

He does a remarkable job of trying to persuade the audience to be more driven to “save the earth” and “the children” by exposing them to nature whenever possible.

More facts to support the downfall of being a natural American is that there has been a significant decline in visits to our national parks. While other countries visits to their parks is on the rise.

His final plea of persuasion was begging Americans to not only protect nature itself but to get our young people involved in nature so they don’t forget the way nature was intended.

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