In July, Slate and other news organizations reported on a mother who was charged with a crime for letting her nine-year old child play alone in a park. The daughter was taken into custody. Stories like that keep coming, creating furor and debate in the blogosphere. Subsequent reporting sometimes reveals more factual and moral complexity than the initial headlines indicated. Still, the decades-long slide toward the criminalization of natural play continues — in both dramatic and subtle ways. What about a serious investigation of the underlying issues and potential solutions? Somebody needs to step to the plate. Four years ago, in this space, I offered a modest proposal for a national — or preferably international — forum on Children, Nature and the Law. Such a forum would engage leaders from the legal profession and insurance industry, educators, health care folks, policy-makers, and grassroots leaders of the children and nature movement. In coming months, the Children & Nature Network will be working on a plan to make this forum happen. Let us know if you’d like to help. -- Richard Louv blog.childrenandnature.org/2014/07/16/overdue-we-need-a-national-conference-on-the-criminalization-of-natural-play-and-a-no-child-left-inside-legal-defense-fund/
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 23:18:28 +0000
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