Most kids have an instinctive liking for nature … our job is simply to get them outdoors in a natural setting, keep it relatively safe … and mother nature will do the rest. But it seems like we might not be putting them in the right places to appreciate the natural world.

Nature Deficit Disorder, a term coined by Richard Louv in his 2005 book "Last Child in the Woods" refers to the trend that children are spending less time outdoors. Louv claims that causes for the phenomenon include parental fears, restricted access to natural areas, and … the big one … the lure of the screen (big, small and everything in between).

The desert and surrounding mountains offer parents, uncles, aunts and grandparents a diverse natural playground for getting kids away from the screens and into the world. Whether its a hike in the pines and granite boulders at the top of the Palm Springs Tramway or a day scrambling on rocks in Joshua Tree National Park … take the time to introduce a kid to nature.