I love this story in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about "Nature Deficit Disorder." Basically kids and teens are spending more time inside with their media and less time going to national parks or doing other outdoor recreational activities. When I was on Forum the other day, one caller won me over by suggesting that parents send their kids to summer camp to unplug. I was a summer camp junkie and couldn't wait for June to roll around every year and for my parents to ship me up to Maine where my grandma lived. Here are some other ideas parents can try to address "NDD":

1) Go white water rafting. It's not exactly like playing video games, but spending a day with your family paddling through rapids can be just as much of an adrenaline rush.

2) Saddle up. Nothing connects you to nature like riding an animal. My guess is that it's pretty hard to text and control your horse at the same time. Go for a trail ride with the whole family.

3) Experience an eclipse. The next time a lunar eclipse or some big meteor shower is happening, stay up with your kids and go out and witness it -- first hand.

4) Catch your meal. Unless you are a vegan or don't believe in killing any animal for food, fishing can be a fun, relaxing way to spend time outside -- and being able to eat what you catch kind of connects your kids to the food chain in a whole new way.

5) Change with the seasons. Take the kids to seasonal stuff -- cherry blossom or lilac festivals, apple picking or pumpkin patches in fall -- most parks have some sort of seasonal activity happening winter, spring, summer or fall. It's a nice reminder that the earth keeps on turning and seasons keep changing no matter what's happening on MySpace.

And yes, unless your child absolutely hates summer camp and refuses to ever go back, send your tween or teen to camp (one with no computers or cell phones). Not only will it cure their NDD, but you get a break, too.