How To Raise A Wild Child
Encouraging the kids to go outside isn't always easy. When they're glued to their video games or TV screens, it can be hard to get them out into the real world. If you start encouraging outdoor activities at a young age, it'll help them form an appreciation of nature. From planting a garden to scavenger hunts, these ideas will show them all the fun they can have outside.
1. Encourage Free Play
Take them outside and let them explore! Encourage free play by letting them interact with the nature around them and use their imagination. Sticks become the building materials for forts and leaves become ingredients for mud soup. They're enjoy being outside when they're free to wander and have fun.
2. Start Camping Young
Family camping trips are experiences the kids will remember forever. If you start camping with them when they're young they'll grow up learning how to live and sleep outside. With no TV or at-home distractions, they're encouraged to play with what's around the campsite.
3. Teach Them About The Night Sky
"An astronaut" is the answer many kids give to the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" They're fascinated by outer space which is the perfect excuse to take them outside and show them what's above them. Teach them about the planets and the constellations you can see and it will peak their interest about the sky.
4. Sign Them Up For Swimming Lessons
Swimming lessons are a great way to teach youngsters about water safety and it'll encourage them to enjoy an outdoor activity. If you raise a human fish, they'll always be happy to go swimming at the beach or at the cottage lake.
5. Let Them Help You Do The Gardening
Kids love to do what their parents do. It'll benefit you and them in the long run if you teach them how to help you in the garden. If they can proudly dig out a weed like dad, they'll be excited to go outside when you ask them for assistance in the garden.
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6. Plant A Vegetable Garden
There's nothing more satisfying then picking the ingredients for dinner from your very own backyard. Planting a vegetable garden and watching it grow is a fun learning experience for the whole family. You'll teach kids about nutrition and plants while advocating for life outdoors.
7. Read Books About Nature
Read them books about wilderness adventures and they'll want to be just like the characters. Reading books about nature will inspire little ones to engage with the natural world. They'll be excited to see butterflies or frogs and want to explore the great outdoors.
8. Watch Movies About The Wilderness
When they're watching movies or TV shows, lean them towards stories about nature or with animal characters that live in the wild. The more they engage with the outside in their indoor world will motivate them to venture outside themselves.
Tess McBride, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Wikimedia
9. Set Up A Scavenger Hunt
Who doesn't love a scavenger hunt? An outdoor hunt for natural treasures like pinecones and acorns will encourage outdoor play. They'll have a hands-on experience learning about nature in a fun game format that also forces them to be physically active.
10. Get Them Outdoor Toys
Outdoor toys will entice little ones to play outside. Simple objects like shovels or bubble blowers are enough to get them out the door. When they discover how they can play outside like they do inside, they'll be less likely to put up a fight when you tell them play with their toys outside.
11. Build A Sandbox
Bring the kid's favorite part about the beach or the playground home with you. A sandbox takes little effort to make with a big impact on your child's entertainment. Kids can spend hours playing in the sand, building sand castles or digging up buried treasure.
12. Make Art With Sidewalk Chalk
If you have a little artist on your hands, motivate them to create their masterpieces outside. Drawing on the ground is a great way to get kids to love the outdoors. Let sidewalk chalk be their new favorite medium and your driveway their canvas.
13. Take Lots Of Nature Walks
Even before they can walk, going on nature walks with your kids is the best way to immerse them in nature. They'll get fresh air and exercise while they wander through the woods. If you make it a habit to walk outside every week, it'll become a part of their comfortable routine.
14. Take Them Out Rain Or Shine
Don't let the weather prevent them from going outside. You want them to like the outdoors no matter the conditions so they don't hide indoors every time it rains. Teach them how to dress for the weather and how they can enjoy playing outside–– puddle jumping is always encouraged.
15. Let Them Get Dirty
If you convince them to go outside then allow them to get messy! They'll feel a sense of freedom when they don't have to refrain from an activity that might dirty their clothes. Without limitations they can explore their curiosities and learn to love to play in the grass and the dirt.
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16. Have A Picnic
Many little kiddos have big appetites. A picnic is a great way to get them outside where they can munch on their lunch in the fresh air. Once their tummies are full, they'll already be outdoors so they can play right where they are.
17. Throw Backyard Parties
Have friends and family over for backyard parties or encourage backyard hangouts when they have play dates. Setting up party games and meals in your backyard will encourage the kids to be outside for longer and enjoy it. If you make the backyard an exciting place to be they'll always want to be there.
18. Teach Them Outdoor Activities
Teach them all the outdoor activities so that they'll never be able to be bored outside. Grab a soccer ball or a football and play some sports or get them to play tag or skipping rope games. The list of outdoor activities is long and exciting for kids of all ages.
19. Find Shapes In The Clouds
On a cloudy day, take them outside to gaze at the sky. If you tell them to find shapes in the clouds it'll boost their imagination and their creativity while keeping them engaged outside. They'll grow to love and learn more about the sky.
20. Make Nature Crafts
Crafting is a fun children's activity that can easily be transferred outside. Make crafts out of natural elements like fallen leaves, twigs, and pinecones. Rock painting is a cheap and easy craft that's best done outside in the rocks' natural habitat. Nature crafts will inspire kids to engage with the environment.
