New Parenting Book Prescribes Nature-based Fun to Improve Mental Health and Mood in Children (and Parents)
Raise calmer, happier, healthier children with these fun, hands-on nature activities for parents and kids to enjoy together.
- (1888PressRelease) April 11, 2022 - In our always-on, pressure-cooker culture, children are at special risk for mental health threats. From too much screen time, to navigating social media, to obsessing over grades and extracurricular activity overload, children face enormous stress. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year one in five American children — 15 million kids — are diagnosed with a mental, emotional or behavioral disorder.
Fortunately, a powerful therapy to protect childhood mental health exists right outside everyone’s door, argues environmental journalist Sandi Schwartz in her new book Finding Ecohappiness: Fun Nature Activities to Help Your Kids Feel Happier and Calmer (Quill Driver Books, publication date May 3, 2022).
Written from one parent to another in an easy, nontechnical style, Finding Ecohappiness clearly explains the science of how nature improves mental health, while giving parents practical tools to help their children manage stress, anxiety and mood.
“Humans evolved to live in nature, not indoors staring at screens all day. We all have a powerful instinct to experience nature, so creating a daily nature habit can help us feel more balanced. I have found in my own battle with stress and anxiety that connecting with nature can soothe anxiety, calm the mind and promote feelings of joy. I call this connection ecohappiness, and am excited to share this information with others,” says Schwartz.
Nature deprivation is particularly harmful to children and their developing young minds. Children naturally want to play outdoors. Too many children today shuttle from school to extracurricular activities to screen time without the outdoor time most adults took for granted during their own childhoods. We’re not just subjecting our children to unnatural levels of stress while they’re at a vulnerable age — we’re also taking away the time with
nature that can help them manage stress.
Finding Ecohappiness guides parents in simple, practical ways they can help their children develop regular habits of reconnecting with nature to reduce stress and boost mood. These activities are simple, fun for children and easily accessible to all families, regardless of their location or socioeconomic status. Finding Ecohappiness lays out an easy-to-follow plan for incorporating principles such as awe and gratitude, mindfulness, creative arts, outdoor play and adventure, volunteering, food and animals into your children’s daily routine, helping them thrive and live a happy, balanced life. Each chapter also includes an activity checklist and additional resources for further exploration.
Engaging activities highlighted in Finding Ecohappiness range from hiking and bike rides to visiting nature centers and science museums to volunteering outdoors to embarking on ecotourism adventures. Schwartz also introduces readers to unique nature relaxation activities like cow cuddling, animal yoga, forest bathing, float therapy and earthing. But daily ecohappiness can be refreshingly simple — even something as easy as creating a backyard garden can improve your children’s mental health. Nature isn’t just for kids, either — doing these activities with your children will tremendously improve your own well-being, too.
A must-read for all families, Finding Ecohappiness will help protect children from feeling stressed and overwhelmed; manage children’s issues with stress, anxiety and mood; and improve family togetherness.
Sandi Schwartz is the founder and director of the Ecohappiness Project and journalist specializing in parenting, environmental and wellness topics. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, National Geographic, Library Journal, Yahoo!, Good Housekeeping, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Scary Mommy and more. She began her career at the United States Environmental Protection Agency and National Academy of Sciences. She is also the proud mom of two school-aged children.
Learn more at www.ecohappinessproject.com/mediakit.
Book Details:
Title: Finding Ecohappiness: Fun Nature Activities to Help Your Kids Feel Happier and Calmer
Author: Sandi Schwartz
Publisher: Quill Driver Books, an imprint of Linden Publishing
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
Price: $19.95 US
Category: Family & Relationships / Parenting
ISBN: 978-0-941936-50-7
6" × 9" trade paperback, 306 pages, 77 color photos, index. Also available in e-book formats.
Available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, IndieBound.org and wherever books are sold.
Quill Driver Books • 2006 S. Mary St., Fresno CA 93721 • 1-800-345-4447
QuillDriverBooks.com
CONTACT: Sandi Schwartz, sandi ( @ ) ecohappinessproject dot com
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