If you ask adults what makes them nostalgic for their childhood, they will usually reply with a sensory experience - a certain sound or smell, or maybe even a taste or touch. We live on a planet that provides us a plethora of such sensations. Young children benefit from experiencing the Earth's gifts through all of their senses.

I remember the sucking sound as I pulled a foot out of the mud pit next to the house where a neighbor and I liked to make mud pies, cool in our hands on hot summer days. I also remember wondering at the evening song of cicadas while I rocked gently on my grandparents' porch swing, and the sweet, furry taste of ripe peaches that sent juice running down my shirt.

There is a great disconnect from nature in the experience of many children. The advent of air conditioning, fewer hours of free time and parents' perception that the world is unsafe have resulted in less outdoor unstructured play for children in this country. The asphalt and concrete of nearby parking lots and sidewalks have replaced grass and dirt as play surfaces. Urban children may make it clear through childhood without a grass stain on their pants.

We try to feed our children balanced meals, stabilize their lives with loving discipline and enrich their souls with faith. Do we consider their need for balance with the Earth? We educate them and amuse them, and we take pride in their achievements. Do we encourage them to view their place here on Earth as a singular opportunity - more fascinating than all the amusement parks or movies or video games in the world?

Children learn to see nature under the patient tutelage of adults who take the time to notice a caterpillar's slow progress down a twig. Parents who join in a frolicking dance outside in a gentle rain shower teach their children about the true blessings of fresh water. When we teach them to bend down and smell an opening bud, they learn to cherish the lovely flowers. All of these experiences encourage children to see the Earth as a resource to tend carefully.

We have heard it said that "We don't own the Earth; we are borrowing it from our children." It is a gift, and it is on loan. We have a responsibility to care for it. Not one person on this whole Earth escapes that responsibility. When we draw our first breath, we are members of that club, like it or not.

When children come to appreciate the elements of nature from a very young age, they have a better understanding of how they fit in the universe, of how they are connected to the world around them. They learn a sense of their own responsibility to the Earth's resources and of the unlimited and free pleasures the Earth has waiting for us all.

What sounds and smells and sensations will be part of your child's memories in another generation? Will it be the hum of a computer? The background jumble of a blaring television? The boredom of four walls? Or will it be the joy of watching a spider build a web? The smell of rain on a breeze? The delight of sitting under a shade tree on a hot afternoon?

One of the greatest joys of parenting is introducing our children to the world. A deepening satisfaction results in watching them learn to appreciate it.

Claudia Quigg is founder and executive director of Baby TALK: www.babytalk.org. Write to her at cquigg@babytalk.org.