Green Cure

Another quote from Wild Child, by Patrick Barkham:

"One in eight people under nineteen in England has a mental health disorder, according to government statistics published in 2018. Almost one in four girls aged seventeen to nineteen has a clinically diagnosed mental disorder. ... Another unsettling trend, observed among American children, is a steady and persistent decline in creativity since 1990 ... thousands of children aged five to eighteen were appraised... '...children have become less emotionally expressive, less energetic, less talkative and verbally expressive, less humorous, less imaginative, less unconventional, less lively and passionate, less perceptive, less apt to connect seemingly irrelevant things, less synthesising, and less likely to see things from a different angle.' ... The erosion of our children's vivacity and joy is caused by a complex constellation of factors not fully understood by anyone. There is, however, a growing body of evidence assembled in the last thirty years pointing to green space and wild nature as one important cure."

And so we dragged ourselves out in the heat... and had a great time.

Gratefuls:
- easy access to green space here
- unhurried time to be in it with them
- whoever made this swing, which was perfect for them