Rear Admiral Kenneth P. Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H.
Acting Surgeon General
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Dear Dr. Moritsugu:
On the website of the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services, I see that you are focusing on many worthy topics in the interest of improving the health of Americans. When it comes to the health of children, your department lists the priority as being to help young people make healthy choices. The top three out of five touchpoints are drinking, smoking and drugs. I am writing to encourage you to shift some of the focus to younger kids, as the foundation for health begins long before kids are even in school.
I recently attended a workshop with Bev Bos in which she discussed the importance of what children experience in the first few years of life. Even something as basic as the smells we associate with childhood have a huge impact on our lives and the world. Neurologist Alan R. Hirsch conducted a survey in which he found that people born before 1930 had sense memories of the outdoors, of the smell of trees and hay. People born after 1930 remember synthetic smells including plastic and Play-Doh. This may not seem alarming, but Ms. Bos points out the power of nostalgia. We reproduce what we feel comfortable with, she says. If we are comforted by the smells of city life, will we feel compelled to protect nature? Will we remember any connection to it at all?
Children seem to be spending less and less time outdoors. Not only do people live farther removed from real wilderness, but parents are afraid to let their kids out by themselves to play at the park or even in the yard or the street. There have been several tragic incidents in the news lately involving harm coming to children, and this will likely fuel parents’ fears further.
In the UK there is currently an effort underway to curb young people’s dependence on video games for entertainment. Members of government and various segments of society have joined the cause. I would like to suggest that you encourage the same critical observation to video games in this country. Many parents may not think twice about video games. They keep the kids occupied for hours and they keep them at home where they’re “safe.” They are, however, one of a number of factors that are keeping kids indoors and depriving them of the wide range of experiences necessary for well rounded development.
It would benefit young people a great deal to remind their families to go outside, to take in smells and sounds that occur in nature. Its survival, and ours, will likely depend on this.
Truly,
Liz Mann
