Getting Children Outside

In an age where environmental sustainability and environmental education are mainstream topics, people, especially children, spend less time outside than ever.

When I think back to when I was a kid, going outside was expected. I remember when my brothers and I would stay out until the sun went down in the summer, and how we would climb trees and build leaf-pile forts and dig ant mazes in the dirt. I remember my first garden and harvesting the little, tiny, tasteless strawberries that grew wild in my yard. I never had any environmental education in school, but I loved being outside.

Nowadays, kids have plenty of devices and homework keeping them indoors, and playing in the yard doesn't hold the same allure as it did for me. So, what can be done?

1. Lead by Example

2. Provide Opportunities

3. Provide Influences

---

1. Lead by Example

   Your children and the children around you see what is important to you. Yes, there are times where your kids will see what you're doing and immediately want to do the opposite (I'm looking at the teenagers, here), but young kids are especially impressionable. If you want your kids to spend time outside, make time and go outside yourself. Whether you're gardening, grilling, going for a walk or a bike ride, hanging out around the fire pit, or playing a game of catch in the evenings, your kids will see that. And don't just do it once or twice and hope it sticks - they'll see that, too. If your kids grow up seeing their parents go outside everyday, they will think it's normal. If they think it's normal, they will think it's strange not to. If they think it's strange to not go outside, they will go outside.

   
   

2. Provide Opportunities

   Maybe you don't live in a neighborhood where it's safe to just let your kids go outside. Or maybe you live in an apartment where a backyard isn't available. In these cases, you may have to put in some extra effort to get outside. You may have to get creative and provide opportunities for your kids to spend time outside.

   You may need to take your kids to the park for 30 minutes before school (this actually has benefits, as well. I highly recommend reading Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods for a well-researched take on getting kids to love nature again). You may need to go on family camping trips, or weekend hikes. You may decide to go birding while you're on a picnic or eating outside at a restaurant. Maybe you'll do a scavenger hunt, or make an obstacle course in the park or at a friend's house.

   Odds are, the more you get your kids outside, the more they will discover things that interest them and will make them want to spend time in nature, whether that is collecting rocks, birding, gardening, biking, hiking, fishing, or staring at clouds.

   
   

3. Provide Influences

   When I was a kid, most of my influences came from the books that I read and the shows I watched. Of course, there are other influences, as well, like parents, teachers, coaches, youth leaders, Scouts leaders, etc., but I wanted to share some of my favorite outdoor influences for kids. Generally speaking, these resources merely need to be available for your kids to pick up in moments of boredom or piqued interest. Fiction books activate the imagination and sense of wonder at life and nature. Non-fiction books inspire crafts and increase knowledge and understanding of the world around us. Videos are great for those who don't love reading, but can still inspire the same types of activities as books.

---

These are just a few of the resources and influences that you can introduce into your children’s lives, but there are many more out there. It takes effort and creativity to change the lives of an entire generation. The good news is, you don’t have to influence the whole generation, just the kids in your sphere of influence. They’re looking to you, so go outside and take them with you.