Getting Our Kids Outside Again
It’s getting warmer out! Finally! Now is the perfect time to start getting the whole family outside.
Children today on average spend less than 10 minutes outdoors a day and over 7 hours on screens daily. Compared to their parents, they spend 35% less time outside. This is due to a few different reasons. One, the kids are overscheduled. Being involved in too many extracurricular activities may seem like a good idea, but it can restrict free play outdoors as well as put a strain on kids. Second, the weather makes parents leery to send their kids outside. I don’t believe we have worse weather in modern age; we even have better clothing to prepare for the elements. Yet, we hear stories of our parents and grandparents playing for hours in a snow bank or jumping in puddles in the rain. Lastly, we as parents are afraid. With worldwide news at our finger tips, we hear of kidnappings and abuse way more than before the internet or television. I don’t know that statistically there is actually more dangers to our kids than there were say 50 years ago, but the dangers feel closer which puts parents on high alert.
We all have this general concept that it’s good to get outside, but we don’t always know the details of why. There is a plethora of reasons to get outside more! Kids who are outside are more physically active thus maintaining a healthy body. The outdoors gives new sensory opportunities and helps children develop motor skills. Exploration happens naturally outside and kids can learn about a wealth of animals, plants, and other things in nature. With proper exposer time and/or sunscreen, we all can get vitamin D from the sun. Outside time can help mental health and encourage positive behavior. It can even help with ADHD! Also, natural light exposure, especially in the morning, can help regulate our circadian rhythm and promote natural melatonin therefore leading to better sleep.
We’ve established that kids aren’t getting outside enough, and we’ve covered why it’s important to get kids outside. 1000 Hours Outside sets up a plan to get families to spend 1000 hours outside in a year. That can be pretty intimidating. Let’s look at some real ways we can get our kids outside and maybe sneak in some work and family time too!
Involve your kids in outdoor work like yard maintenance or gardening! Age pending, kids can help with everything from picking up twigs to mowing the lawn. We’re working with our one year old to be more helpful and this is one of the ways we’re involving her. The work needs to be done anyway, and we’re hoping by starting her young she’ll develop a helpful and hard working attitude. Gardening is another great way to involve the whole family. Not only will you be growing food for your family, but you’ll be teaching your kids important life skills. They can help dig holes, water, harvest, and so much more. If you don’t know where to start with gardening or don’t have much room to grow a garden, container gardens are great too! Just get pots and plants (we love to get our plants from Bosserd Family Farms) and you can have your own garden on your porch!
Cook and eat outside! With the warmer weather out, it’s perfect for grilling. With the right recipes, you can do all your cooking outside. You don’t have to heat your house up and it gives you opportunity to squeeze in some extra outside time. To add on some sunshine hours, eat outside too! No patio table? No problem! Grab a blanket and have a picnic! I promise the whole family will have a great time with it as you make some precious memories with your kids.
Go on family walks! This is something my family loves to do almost year round. We grab the dog and hit the trails or wander through the fields. If we’re going somewhere somewhat smooth, we do take the stroller and give Natalie some walking breaks, but when she was smaller, we loved our front pack carrier for her. We all got outside, she felt close to us, and it doubled as added exercise. Rucking, anyone?
Visit your local farm! Look up or contact your local farms to see if they do tours or events. It’ll add something fun to do for your family, plus there are studies showing the benefits of kids being exposed to livestock. We will be doing a grand opening soon! It’ll be a whole family event with farm tours, some fun activities, and milk samples! Stay tuned to our events page or sign up for our email list to stay updated on this event and future ones to come!
Whether you take the suggestions laid out here or come up with ideas of your own, I hope you get outside soon! It will benefit the mental, physical, and relational health of your whole family!
Sources:
Survey Finds Today's Children Are Spending 35% Less Time Playing Freely Outside
