How many times have you heard “I’m bored” from the kids? You’ve bought them cell phones, tablets, and just about everything else one can imagine. Still, it never seems to be enough to keep them entertained. With the summer months fast approaching, parents are going to want to get the kids out of the house and getting them to play outside. It isn’t always easy, but here are a few things you can do to make going outside more attractive to summer-vacationing kids.
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Nature Scavenger Hunt
Kids like to play games, so make going outside fun by creating a competition out of it. If you live in an area with a lot of trees, you have the kids find as many different kinds of leaves as they can, for instance. There is something about the hunt that kids just love. If you live in an area with fewer trees, you could have the kids go on an insect photography hunt. The kid who finds the most kinds of bugs and takes a photo with their cell phone, wins! Summer vacation is long, so be creative, and your kids will have a great time outside this summer.
Make Your Yard a Play Park
Kids love going to the park, so why not build a playset in your yard? The investment into a solid playset will pay dividends for years if the kids are young enough. Besides, kids love playing on big back yard playsets and not just yours; their friends are going to want to come over to play, making yours go outside even more. A good playset will help you sell your home to a young family when its time to move out.
Plant a Garden With The Kids
Kids are fascinated with life, and there isn’t a more inexpensive way to get them to experience it than by having them put seeds and dirt and watching it sprout. When you and the kids make a garden, they will love to come out to monitor the growth of each and every plant. The little ones will get excited over every new leaf and will update you throughout the summer. Gardens are also a great way to teach them where we get our food. On top of everything else, you’ll get some delicious fresh vegetables at harvest time.
Limit Screentime on Electronics
Kids are naturally resourceful and can find entertainment with the most mundane things. When you limit the time they have on their smart devices, they will naturally end up wanting to go outdoors. Children will sit and watch their electronic devices all day if you let them. Don’t let them, and they will go outside whether you do anything else or not.
Plan a Picnic at a Park
It may seem like an overly simple solution, but tieing a fun lunch or dinner with playing outside can do wonders. Just make sure you’re serving something the kids are going to like to make the overall experience fun. Once dinner is done, let the kids run around the playground for at least an hour. They will make new friends while burning off some of that nervous energy that can sometimes make it hard for them to sleep at bedtime. When their bodies become accustomed to the extra activity, they will want to go out more and more.
Get the Kids Some “Play in the Dirt” Clothes
When kids go outside, there may be a slight inhibition in getting their clothes messy, which will limit the kinds of things they can do. If you have a set of clothes that the kids know that you won’t care about them getting filthy, then they will have more fun playing outside.
Eat Dinner on the Patio
Getting the kids used to being outside can be the biggest hurdle in getting them out to play. An easy way to getting them accustomed to being outdoors is having your dinner out on the patio. After dinner, the younger kids can play in the yard when the older children are talking to you about their day. Dinner time is an essential element to a healthy family, use this suggestion and you can end up helping cultivate a lifetime love of the outdoors as well.
Walk With Them to School
When your child gets dropped off at the door of the school, their lives start on a more hectic note. Walking, leisurely, to school is an excellent way for the kids to get themselves ready for the pressures of the school day. Walking to school, with time to spare, is a beautiful way of setting them up for preparing themselves in the morning throughout their lives. Walking with your kids to school is also a great way of getting them used to being outdoors. Showing the young one the different kinds of trees along the way also may spark another interest in the outdoors that can last a lifetime. Not only will walking with your kids help them, but it is a great way to start your day as well.
Be Active with Your Kids
The best way to keep your kids active and outdoors is to be active and take them outside to do things. Habits are learned, and you teach your kids to go out and do something when you do it. Being active yourself is one of the most often overlooked methods in encouraging active play from your children. People tend to want quick fixes and easy solutions to their problems, but sometimes you have to put in the work with your kids and be what you want them to be.
Having kids play outdoors is becoming harder with all the distractions they have today. It is going to take active planning and participation on the parts of parents if kids are going to like to do stuff outside. Following these few suggestions can get you started in helping your kids love playing out of doors.
