Childhood is the time to build this risk assessment skill set. Kids need ample time to explore and adequately learn both components of risk.

Sunlight regulates human physiology and behavior. In fact, approximately 100 bodily functions have daily rhythms that require exposure to the sun's day and night schedule for optimal function.

Here is a sobering statistic: Children between the ages of 10 and 17 will experience nearly one-third fewer face-to-face interactions with other people throughout their lifetimes as a result of an increasingly electronic culture, at home and in school.

Children desperately need their childhood hours. Let's give them some back!

As each of us begins to value these unmeasurable components of childhood, we show others that there are many enticing paths toward success and happiness.

When kids play outside it can take up to 45 minutes to determine a play scheme. Since kids activities are often less than 45 minutes we aren't used to giving kids the time they need to figure out what they are going to do with their surroundings. Waiting almost always gives way to something engaging.

Nature gently reminds me to let things go and embrace the unpredictabilities that are synonymous with parenting. When I surrender something altogether different and magnificent is created.

Take charge during this sometimes scary season of life when we fear we might mess it all up but deep down we know kids need nature time. They need it now more than ever.

Whereas parents mere decades ago were content with hours upon hours of neighborhood play, parenting today comes with compelling pressure to enroll in extracurriculars and there is almost no neighborhood play at all.

We can build nature time into our lives just like how we build in other good habits. In this way we change the tone of the activity and time in nature becomes an exciting, dependable, and meaningful part of the landscape of childhood.

Throughout childhood there will be many voices encouraging you to enroll and each enrollment will certainly have some merit. What you probably won't feel is much pressure to play outside.

Extended time outside provides children with the perfect environment they need for their growth, while simultaneously providing parents and caregivers with desperately-needed moments of reprieve and peace.

Yes, our world is full of incredible teachers (including parents) but the best teacher it seems, is our own personal feedback loop.

Our screens and screen culture have normalized the experience of having conversations with little or no eye contact. We’ve seen it in adults, and we all have certainly seen it in kids. Unfortunately, we are losing something vital and inherently human. -Nicholas Kardaras Ph.D.

We take over the learning process so young that we forget how much children bring to the table as it relates to their own advancement.

Many of our frustrations as parents arise simply from denying our kids the opportunities they desperately need, albeit unintentionally. The cherry on top is that nature time is good for adults as well so there really are no downsides here.

When children go outside they naturally want to challenge their bodies. Challenge is integral to development. As physical movements grow more complex, so do the connections within the brain.

75% of the time we spend with our kids in our lifetime will be spent by age 12.

As childhood has largely moved indoors over the past several decades,  The Little Farmhouse in West Virginia highlights the power and long-lasting impact of simple nature experiences for children.

In the sea of activities available to children and families the simple act of stepping outside to play can easily get lost. Who has time for playing in the yard when there are dances to be rehearsed, homework to be finished, music notes to be played, and soccer drills to run?