Episode #10: The Not-So-Outdoorsy Kids – 11 Easy Ways to Get Reluctant Kids Outside

The Whole Mama - A Podcast with Jenna Gibbons

"According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, kids ages 8-18 now spend, on average, a whopping 7.5 hours in front of a screen for entertainment each day, 4.5 of which are spent watching TV. Over a year, that adds up to 114 full days watching a screen for fun."

As we wrap up this month's focus on getting your kids outside…what if your kiddo doesn’t like the outdoors?

Kids aren’t playing the way they used to, so we need to bring back a deep love of the outdoors.

We have to take action to get our kids outside and playing in order to create a balance with technology. ALL kids need some unstructured, outdoor, free play! Being outside helps us retain necessary vitamin D, foster movement, and encourage exploration.

1. Bring the toys they love outside on a large blanket.

2. Enjoy the outdoors together – evening walk, washing the car, play kickball, have a fire and s’mores, catch fireflies, play hide-and-seek or tag, fishing, etc.

3. Offer them the chance to explore a variety of outdoor spaces – depending on where you live. Visit places like the botanical garden, the beach, kayaking a river, hiking in the woods, visiting a farm, going to the zoo, etc.

4. Make it social and bring their friends! Kids love to spend time with their friends, so why not let them enjoy each other outside? Encourage things like kickball, tag, obstacle course, scavenger hunt with a massive prize, etc.

5. It’s critical that kids contribute to caring for your home…there are tons of opportunities to do this outside. For example, our son fills the horses’ water trough every morning, helps water the garden and pick vegetables. Other examples might be sweeping the porch, taking out the garbage, or pulling weeds.

6. Kids love snacks! Take a picnic outside or have snacks handy to enjoy outside. If it’s hot, have popsicles, freeze pops, or ice cream on hand to enjoy.

7. Kids also love WATER! Offer water table, squirt guns, water balloons, slip n’ slides, etc.

8. Encourage daily “sunshine time” – even if it’s 20 minutes and chilly outside! Try to incorporate this time into your schedule each day…even on the weekends! If it’s raining, play on the porch!

9. Bring the books or art outside – read to stuffed animals or enjoy sidewalk chalk, squirt gun paint, etc.

10. Devote special time to the outdoors – if you live where it is hot…get out early in the morning or in the evening before bed. That’s what we do!

11. Tell them it is okay to get messy, muddy, and dirty!

Try your best to fill your child’s years as a kid with memories of fun and free play outside rather than memories of a screen. Some of my fondest memories ALL revolved around being outs

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