We're living in a age of instant gratification and that's stealing your child's future, here's how.

• Flick on a switch - and you have light
• Turn a faucet you've got beautiful fresh drinking water
• Twist a valve and your home is warmed by the gas heating.

Our 21st century lives are sadly detached from the natural world and we're consuming the world's limited resources at an scary rate. You've heard people on T.V. say that our kids are the future, and that's true. So connecting kids with the Earth's natural cycles is vital if we're going to help them understand the need to look after the Earth's resources. Fossil fueld gas or electric ovens cook and food while the heating they provide warms our homes.

The problem is that our kids just see it as instant and lasting as long as needed. They are so detached from the reality of using natures resources the need source, transport and prepare fuel An old forrester once told me that buring woods will warm you three times.

• When you collect it
• When you cut/prepare it
• When you finally burn it.

If you've ever enjoyed a night in the woods besides a camp fire (or bush telly as its know in Australia) you'll know all too well the cycle and the need to continually manage and feed the fire, as it burns through its cycles of growth and decline. This is the natural order of things. Everything under the stars is "born", lives and then dies before being reborn in some other form - in fact even the stars themselves follow this path.

As we realise how "instant gratification" is causing our children to miss out on this cyclical reality. You may become aware of how important it is for them to grasp it. Nature can be a great teacher - and not just for nature. It can help them understand and avoid credit card debt, scamsters and their get rich quich ideas. So encouraging involvment in the outdoors, even humble gardening can bea great way to bond with your kids while helping them develop traditional thinking that will help them thrive in the modern world.

It can also be fun and exciting for the whole family and that makes it even easier to learn and remember. Further, if the teaching is structured with reflective practise and discussion it can make broadening the learning to jobs, relationships and money management even more effective.

Would you leave the faucet running for long if you had to hike 5 miles to top up the barrel and then carry it back to basecamp? Then you'd have to work out how to make it clean and pure enough to drink? Which means if you haven't got a filter you need to build a fire... As you sit by the fire rubbing your aching back and wondering what the best way to purify water is while camping is? My bet is you'd be less keen on wasting the water.

So what do you think? Are you curious enough to get involved and inspire your kids and teach them the value of the reources we all use? One of the things that might come as a happy suprise is how getting started together will deepen you bonds as a family. Tribal people have learned this way for generations and still have strong family bonds. Are you willing to play the hero|superhero|tribal elder] in your childs life? it's their future after all. If you are ready to get involved then what's the first step you can take today?