We know that getting outside benefits the mental and physical health of adults, but did you know it also benefits the development of your children – including babies?
Spending time outside is a great way to boost your baby’s immune system, may help prevent the development of allergies or asthma, and can help boost your baby’s endorphin production, making them happier overall.
Getting outside with your baby is a great way to help them sleep at night and our favorite tool in the fight against jetlag.
You don’t have to wait to get outside with your baby – as soon as you feel ready, you can head outside for the first walk around your neighborhood.
You don’t need to move into the middle of nowhere to teach your family how to enjoy nature – nature is everywhere around us, even in the middle of the city. When I worked as a preschool teacher in Hamburg, we spent hours in the park next to our building. These are some of the games I used to motivate the children to get up, get out, and get playing.
As an added bonus, most of these activities sublty work on teaching your child to play independently – giving parents the much-needed gift of time.
Nature Walks
What’s the main difference between a walk and a nature walk? It’s not the location or the surroundings – it’s how you walk. A nature walk is a conscious stroll that invites the walker to observe the natural world around them. It means tuning into your environment, noticing flowers blooming, trees budding, and the activities of the busy bugs around you.
Older children create a nature journal, and jot some of their observations down. Artistically minded families can sit down and draw leaves, bugs, flowers, or clouds!
The point of a nature walk isn’t to go far, walk fast, or get your steps in. It’s about consciously observing the world around you, noticing the changes with the seasons, and tuning yourself into active observation. It helps to keep a nature walk on a semi-consistent route around your neighborhood to help your family notice the differences in the surroundings throughout the year. You don’t need to venture into the woods to enjoy nature.
Back in Hamburg, as a preschool teacher, my Pre-K kids and I would walk around our local playground and observe what plants were budding. We discovered where the daffodils would bloom in the spring and anxiously checked the flowers daily, observing them closely. f
Adventure Bag
An adventure bag is a great way to get your whole family outside and involved in their community. Inspired by the fantastic Journey Era blog, the adventure bag movement is all about giving back to the community and appreciating nature while hiking. The steps are simple. Bring a garbage bag with you on walks and hikes, and fill it as you go. You can even make it into a contest, whoever has the fullest bag by the end of your hike wins!
Adventure bags are a tool for children, not babies. Our baby version of the adventure bag is a lot less inspirational—we fill it with natural treasures, such as rocks, sticks, leaves, and feathers.
Even though he isn’t picking up the litter found along our hikes like his parents, he observes us gathering the trash and understands the importance of picking up things that don’t belong.
Back in Hamburg, the Pre-K kids and I would use adventure bags to gather supplies for art projects. Leaves, rocks, and sticks can make wonderful art (and the supplies are free!)
Another benefit of the adventure bag is that it teaches children about responsible land stewardship and how to be active participants in bettering their community.
Instead of remarking on the amount of trash found along the trail, adventure bags allow hikers to pick up the rubbish, thus becoming an active part of the environmental movement and protecting nature. Teaching our children to actively change something that bothers them is vital in creating a better future.
Find a “Safe Space”
Independent play is an integral part of childhood development. It’s important to note that I mean independent play, not unsupervised play. Independent play is when a child plays alone with a responsible adult nearby. It fosters creativity and resilience and teaches children to deal with boredom. Plus, it gives parents a much-needed opportunity to relax.
Finding a space outdoors free of immediate danger is our priority when moving to a new location. These safe spaces quickly become our go-to play areas. In Madeira, our favorite safe space was in Chao da Ribeira, above the beach of Seixal. Here, the baby could roam through a field, pick grass to feed his hungry sheep, and throw stones in the Levada without being in extreme danger.
There is no completely safe space for babies or children. Examples of safe spaces in nature vary wildly, based on where you leave and how comfortable you are with letting your children roam. We like to use large, flat, grassy fields, clearings in forests, or shallow creek beaches as safe spaces. Somewhere where the dangers are minimal, like falling and scraping a knee, rather than absolute, like falling off a cliff or drowning.
Examples of safe spaces in cities tend to be playgrounds, parks, and small forests. It’s essential to ensure the playground or park is fenced in, preventing small children from running into the road.
Rock Bucket
My baby’s favorite outdoor activity? Rock bucket. It’s the simple game with a simple name. We transform empty yoghurt or tupperware containers into the best toys by following one simple step – put rocks in them.
Seriously.
Rock bucket keeps my baby busy for up to 45 minutes – a lifetime achievement at 14 months old.
You don’t have to put rocks in your bucket. You can put anything you’d like in there! Similar to the Adventure bag, Rock Buckets are a great way to get you and your family observing the world around you. Try bringing two buckets with you on your next walk, one for rocks and the other for pinecones. Just be aware – once you start rock bucket, it quickly becomes a lifestyle. You’ll have to bring a bucket with you on everywhere! Luckily, my mom found these packable silicone buckets, small enough to fit in any bag, but large enough to fit more rocks than you can carry.
Find Local “Wildlife”
You don’t need to go deep into the forest to find interesting animals. Or pay the steep fee to visit your local zoo! (Unless you live in St. Louis, where the zoo is free!)
My little one loves all animals. Including sheep, cats, dogs, bugs, and cats. We use his love of animals to motivate us to get dressed and head outside. Sometimes, all we do is walk around our neighborhood and say hi to the dogs and cats. Othertimes, we hop in the car for a short drive to a neighboring farm to say hello to the sheep, goats, and cows.
I contact local farms over Facebook and ask if we can visit the animals. We’ve milked cows, fed sheep, pet horses, and gathered eggs simply by asking around in our community.
Finding animals along our hikes motivates my toddler to keep walking, even when his little legs are tired. Our favorite hikes have us winding along narrow paths between horse corrals, alongside cows, and climbing over fences to visit some sheep. My toddler not being whiny and allowing us to keep hiking motivates me to get off my butt and keep going!
Get Outside
The most important part of getting outside is simply doing it.
Figuring out ways to incorporate the outdoors into your daily lives can have a positive impact on your child’s behavior and mental and physical development. As well as your own! Spending time outside helps boost your vitamin D production, assists adults and children in sleeping through the night, increases physical fitness levels, and is an all-around good habit to add to your day.
You don’t have to hike days into the wilderness to enjoy nature. Nature is all around us – even in huge cities.
- Nature walks are a great way to make your neighborhood interesting, as they help walkers to observe the nature around them.
- Adventure bags teach responsibility and environmental stewardship and are a great way to show children how to have a positive impact on their local community.
- Safe Spaces exist all over your local area and are a great way to foster indepencence, teach independent play, and give parents a much-needed break from entertaining their little ones!
- Don’t be fooled by the name’s simplicity – Rock Bucket remains my son’s favorite way to play independently in nature. Bring a bucket and fill ‘er up!
- Children are easily impressed. Wildlife walks don’t have to be exotic animals; find some sheep, horses, cows, or squirrels to observe closely. Or your neighbor’s cat!
I hope this blog gives you and your family some ideas on incorporating outside time into your daily routine! Remember, it doesn’t have to be complicated to be enjoyable. Sometimes, my baby needs a grassy field, a bucket, and some rocks.
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