Super Eco

Photo credit: cafemama, flickr

My kids are "outdoor" junkies. They're hooked on snowboarding, river rafting and a good, strenuous hike. There's just one problem: they're on their butts the entire time. Plopped down in front of my Macbook playing pretend sports on ClubPenguin, Facebook for shorties. And it's all my fault for letting them. 

Sound familiar? A little too familiar. In fact, a recent study revealed that the average American child spends six-plus hours a day (some 44 sedentary hours a week!) "plugged in." That's a grip more than the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation of one to two hours of screen time per day—max. 

"Screen space is taking the place of green space" when an alarming one out of three children in the U.S. is either overweight or obese. And what they're doing in front of the tube—risking obesity, decreased intelligence and violent behavior—is as critical as what they're not -- playing, imagining, interacting and discovering the Great Outdoors. Remember that place? America the Beautiful, with spacious skies and amber waves of, well, you know the rest. But do your kids?

Mother Nature, we have a problem, a big one called Nature Deficit Disorder. Since when did "we" become Wii? And how can we fix it? The National Wildlife Federation just might have the answer. Three words: "The Green Hour." It's free and every kid can have one, every day.

Here's how it works:

1) Just. Shut. It. Off. Whichever screen your kids are glued to at the moment.

2) Ask (command, bribe, whatever it takes) them to "unplug" and head for the hills, or, in my case, the dead grass blanketed back yard.

3) On your marks, get ready ... and ... run, play, ricochet or whatever moves you and your brood.

4) Stay outside for at least ONE "Green Hour" reconnecting with nature and your family.

Now off with you! Drop your Blackberry and GET OUT there! Oh, and don't forget the kids.