(Tiny Tips) – Natural Habits – The environmental parenting book, “Finding Ecohappiness: Fun Nature Activities to Help Your Kids Feel Happier and Calmer,” prescribes nature-based fun to improve mental health and mood in children (and parents).
In our constant pressure cooker culture, children are particularly at risk for their mental health. From too much screen time to browsing social media to being obsessed with grades and overloaded with extracurricular activities, kids face a lot of stress. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five U.S. children (15 million children) is diagnosed with a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder each year.
Environmental reporter Sandy Schwartz believes that luckily, there is an effective treatment available for everyone to protect children’s mental health. Written by one parent to another in a simple, non-technical style, “Searching for Ecological Bliss” clearly explains the science of how nature improves mental health, while providing parents with simple, practical ways to help their children, Make a regular habit of reconnecting with nature to reduce stress. and boost your mood.
From hiking and biking to visiting nature centers and science museums to outdoor volunteering and ecotourism adventures, activities are categorized by awe and gratitude, mindfulness, creative arts, outdoor play and adventure, volunteering, food and animals. Each chapter includes a checklist of activities and additional resources for further exploration.
In Search of Ecological Bliss has won numerous awards, including a Gold Medal for Foreword Review, a Gold Medal from the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Benjamin Franklin Award Program, a Nautilus Gold Medal, a Gold Medal from the Writers of Nonfiction Association for Nonfiction, and an Arlene Book Award: Awarded for influential books by the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), and a finalist for the National Independent Excellence Award (NIEA).
The following is an excerpt from “Finding Ecohappiness: Fun Nature Activities to Help Your Kids Feel Happier and Calmer” by Sandi Schwartz, pages 265-266. Copyright © Sandi Schwartz 2022. Reproduced by permission of Quill Driver Books, Fresno, CA.
How your natural habits can heal your family and the planet
Thank you for being with me. If you’ve discovered a new outdoor activity that your family can enjoy together, then I’ve done my job. Whether you decide to start a home garden in your backyard, practice nature meditation with your kids before bed, or do something big like book an ecotourism trip to another country, you’ve found eco-bliss. Nature has so much to offer us if we open all our senses to receive these extraordinary gifts.
I hope your family’s natural routine helps you feel happier, healthier, and calmer. I invite you to read this book frequently as a toolbox for developing new ideas and finding support on your path to ecological well-being.
However, the details of many of the natural activities highlighted in this book are only stepping stones to achieve the final result. This natural habit you create for your family will be of great help to you, your children, and others. By turning to nature, we can improve our mental health, our communities, and our planet. My goal is to show you the amazing ways nature allows us to thrive.
Now that you know how beneficial nature is to your family’s well-being, will you try to save it?
The irony is that nature is ready and willing to provide us with solutions to help us feel happier, more positive, and more energetic, but we don’t always treat our nature with the admiration and respect it deserves environment. Our environment faces numerous threats, from climate change to plastic pollution to overdevelopment and other disasters. While this book focuses on how nature can improve children’s mental health, there’s a broader picture to consider.
In addition to recognizing the healing power of nature, the next step is to protect it for the future. If the local park turned into a shopping mall, where would your kids go to play? How will your children swim and fish if the nearby lake or river is filled with trash? How will our children experience the awe and joy of seeing different species of birds flying in the sky if their habitats are destroyed? Essentially, the way we treat our natural environment reflects the way we treat ourselves, our children, and all living things. This affects all our happiness.
I wrote this book not only to help families find natural ways to relieve stress, but also to illustrate why mental health should be part of the environmental movement. This has been missing for too long. Above all, we need to protect our environment for many key reasons, including our mental health.
I also firmly believe that happy, well-adjusted people do not harm others. If more people used these tools to find happiness and learned to appreciate nature’s treasures, our world would ultimately become a safer and more peaceful place. Isn’t that what we all want anyway?
Keep challenging yourself to do more, go deeper, and experience extraordinary things. Try new activities, visit different places you’ve never explored before, and experiment with ways to bring ecological happiness to your family. Then share your experiences and the great benefits of nature with friends and strangers, and continue to volunteer your time to help others and the planet. In this way, we will see the world progress and become better.