I recently read an article by George Monbiot titled "If Children Lose Contact With Nature, They Won't Fight For It". Get the full article HERE. In the article he states "In one generation the proportion of children regularly playing in wild places in the UK has fallen from more than half to fewer than one in 10. In the US, in just six years (1997-2003) children with particular outdoor hobbies fell by half. Eleven- to 15-year-olds in Britain now spend, on average, half their waking day in front of a screen." This is crazy to me! How could children not want to go outside and run in the mud, climb a tree, or go swim in the ocean. If you listened to the Spartan Underground podcast (Listen Here) you would have heard the story of how I was pulled into the health and fitness industry. It was because I would talk to both children and adults who were too out of shape to even go on a hike or go snorkeling at their local beach. THIS BLEW MY MIND! I thought maybe this is just happening in Hawaii, but judging from this article, it is happening world wide. Being that my education and background is in Marine Biology and ocean conservation, this hits home with me. It's scary to think that the children of our future aren't going to care about the forests, rivers, or oceans that provide so much for us. If they played outdoors more often then they would realize what amazing experiences can be had, without a screen under your nose. Another comment in the article was that parents nowadays are so scared to let their children play outside because they're worried they may get hurt. Heaven forbid they get a little cut or scratch! I don't have any kids so maybe I can't talk, but I see parents who won't even let their kids play on grass without shoes on. It's only grass, what could happen? There are multiple studies that say humans need what is called "grounding", which is where the electrical current in our body needs to be balanced by that of the ground. And when we wear shoes all the time, this grounding never occurs and it can be detrimental to our health. Look it up! When kids aren't allowed to play outdoors, they eventually turn into adults who are too scared to play outdoors. Mother Nature is what gives artists their inspiration, musicians their lyrics, and playgrounds for trail runners like me! So if you have kids, or if you yourself don't get outside often, make an extra effort this month to get outside and play. Go for a little hike, or just go down to the beach and take a swim. I bet you'll be in a much happier mood when you return. Let me know how it goes! I expect to see lots of pictures of smiling faces outdoors this weekend. Tag @MaukaMakaiFitness in your post.