Kids spend so much time indoors these days that they have no idea how to enjoy the outdoors. In fact, the moment you put them outside they often look out of place, apprehensive, and just plain bored. Rather than accept this as a new normal for kids, try to get back to nature with yours. Teaching them to love the outdoors as early on as possible will ensure they are less likely to become couch potatoes with no imagination. Below, you’ll find some advice that will help you to get back to nature with your kids:
Go Geocaching
Geocaching is a really fun way to get active outdoors together. This is basically a real world treasure hunting game where you use a GPS device to make sure you’re in the right place. You work together to find the geocache container hidden somewhere in the vicinity. You can then keep whatever is inside the container (perhaps a small toy or something), but you must leave something in there yourself for the next person to find.
Plan Lots Of Outdoor Activities Together
As well as geocaching, plan lots of other outdoor activities together. Go for regular walks and bike rides. Find places to go and explore where you’ve never been before. Look for excuses to get outside as often as possible! The fresh air and sunlight will do everybody good.
Buy Them Some Outdoor Toys
Outdoor toys give kids the ideal excuse to get outside. Drones, for one, are an amazing gift for kids to play with – just make sure you can use the drone in your area, as there may be some restrictions on where you can fly it. Bikes, slides, trampolines, water guns – there are literally so many outdoor toys that the kids will love.
Plan Outdoor Playdates With Their Friends
Plan outdoor playdates with your kid’s friends. Take them to the park, or set something up in the garden for them. Make it so that they can tire themselves out out there, rather than coming in and out of the house over and over again. You’ll only end up feeling old when you yell, ‘in or out, make up your mind!’
Take Them Camping
Camping is a hugely underrated family activity. Going on luxury vacations is nice, but nothing will get you back to nature quite like camping will. You could camp in a tent, or even in a van if you have the right kind. Cooking and eating in the great outdoors, exploring, and making friends with like minded people will be something they remember forever. If you can’t take them on a camping trip just yet for whatever reason, just camp out in the garden. Your kids will still find it terribly exciting, and it will still be a memory they treasure!
Make Spending Time In The Garden More Appealing
There are so many ways you can make spending time in the garden more appealing to your kids, too. How about buying a hammock or a swing chair that they can kick back on and read a book? You could plan a vegetable or herb garden with them, teaching them about different types and what they need to thrive. Giving them their own little patch of garden will give them some responsibility and they will love looking after it.
If you’re unsure how you will be able to get them outdoors for a bit each day, consider making a jar with suggestions in so they can pull one out every time they are stuck for ideas. This will do a lot of the hard work for them and you! Brainstorm ideas and write them on wooden sticks before placing them in the jar. You could even have little chores on there, such as watering the plants.
Go For A Picnic
Picnics with family and friends are great fun, too. Everybody loves eating little finger foods and snacks and drinking from those thermos flasks. Just make sure you store everything correctly as food that is supposed to be chilled can go warm and become dangerous to eat. Investing in a good cooler box and bag will mean you can go for a safe and delicious picnic whenever the feeling takes you. They will also be hugely beneficial when you go camping.
Which of these ideas will you use to get back to nature with your kids? Leave your own ideas below and let us know what you plan to do. Thanks for reading and come back soon!
