I have fond memories of spending most of my childhood outside. We would spend hours with neighborhood kids making up games to play and wandering from yard to yard. I even found this old newspaper article from our local town paper when I was only 5 playing with some of our best friends.
Things have changed over the years and there are lots of fun shiny things that grab kids attention indoors but the desire to get outside and explore nature is still something that is innate in growing bodies. As parents of children in this generation, we have to put a little more effort into getting our kids outside. We may even have to be a little sneaky about it. Outdoor play and recess offers so many benefits to a child's development. Kids need to be outside {or as I like to say to my kids "get the stink blown off of ya"} to receive the cognitive, health, emotional, social and physical benefits and I've got some ideas for you to help you do that.
Sneaky Ways to Get Your Kids Outside
Give Them Your Phone
OK, bear with me on this one. Perhaps one of the reasons you can't get your kids outside is because of electronic devices, but sometimes electronics can draw your kids out. As a parent of young kids, I was always amazed at what they saw. A bug or a line of ants could catch their attention or they would make a striking observation that would stop me in my tracks. It's one reason that I give them my phone or my camera to take pictures of their surroundings. I love to see what catches their eye, especially as they get older.
You can also create a photo scavenger hunt. My family splits into two teams, usually boys vs girls, and we have a list of items to hunt for. We head to a park or an open area and use our list and our camera to snap pictures of the items. You can even set a time limit or have first one done text to win. We then meet back up and exchange our lists and our images.
Geocaching is another activity we like to do as a family that uses electronics but still gets us outside on a high-tech scavenger hunt. If you want to learn more about geocaching, you can check out this post.
If you have kids who love the devices, these three ideas, might just help you bridge that gap and get
kids outside having fun before they even notice!
Explore Your Area
We are pretty darn lucky to live where we live. People come from all over to hike our trails and visit our mountains, and sometimes we take that for granted. You can find trails and explore your area too. Even if you have kiddos with little feet, you can still find a trail that they can walk on and explore. The more you get out into your area, the more your kids will want to continue to see what is out there.
Build a Fort
Fort building is a great activity to get kids outside. Give your kids some simple supplies like leftover wood, nails and hammers and let them get to work using their imaginations to create something. Of course, explaining proper safety techniques before you give them free reign is important too.
Leave the Car at Home
I love that we live within walking distance to a lot of cool things like parks, libraries, schools, restaurants and stores. I try to encourage leaving the car at home as much as possible. All of the members of our family has some non-gas powered means of transportation that can get us around town. We put a lot of miles on our cars in this day and age, why not try to see how many things you can get to safely by biking or walking.
Do Something Different
Surprise your family by doing something different. Pack up a meal and head to a local park. We are so busy during the week that if we have a free evening, going out is the last thing we want to do, but sometimes changing things up is exactly what your family needs. Invite another family to join you, or pack up a football or a Frisbee and toss it around. Usually when it's time to pack up and leave, I always hear groans and moans even from the most reluctant member.
Head to the Local Playground
It's so important for kids to have safe places to play, your local park or school playground is the perfect place, no matter their age. Culturelle® Kids has partnered with the non-profit KaBoom! to make sure that all kids have a safe place to play. Culturelle® Kids is building one lucky school in need a new playground as part of a $100,000 investment in The Project Playground program. The key ingredients in Culturelle® Kids probiotics, like outdoor play, helps keep kids healthy.* They know how important it is for kids to be outside and want to make outdoor play accessible for all kids.
Now what are you waiting for? Get outside!
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