Take a Kid Outside Today

It’s a gorgeous spring day – the leaves are out, the birds are singing and it smells like grass.  I remember days like this when I was a kid.  Everything seemed so promising.  Summer was coming, school would soon be out and we would get to live outside. These days it’s a challenge to get kids outside.  

I was a lucky kid.  I had a grandmother that would spend time with me in the backyard teaching me the name of every tree, bush, bird and bug.  It was our time together.  For grandma, it was a way that she could entertain me when she was babysitting.  But I didn’t see it that way, for me, it was a time to learn about and appreciate the world just outside my window and get my grandma’s full attention.  

I believe that those early experiences of being outside in the backyard with grandma led me to my fondness for nature today and my strong desire to protect it.   It set the stage for my life’s path, purpose and work.   Whenever I feel stressed or overwhelmed, I take a break and go outside to take the dog for a walk in the park or walk in the woods.  And it always works to calm me down and make me feel renewed.  

Child advocacy expert, Richard Louv takes it even further by stating that childhood obesity, attention disorders and depression could be due to a nature deficit.  Louv, in his book,  Last Child in the Woods, brings together a growing body of research showing that getting outside in nature is critical for healthy childhood development and happiness.  

I wish for all children a person who will take them outside and teach them about nature or just be in nature with them.  It is critical to our survival and happiness as adults.  It is also key to the protection of our natural world.  We need a connection to it to want to protect it.  Here is how to get started with your favorite little one:    

·    Go bird watching – it is the fastest growing American pastime.  Get a bird book, put up a feeder and keep a list of what birds you see.  

·    Explore your own backyard – be like my grandmother in a child’s life and start them as a toddler to touch, smell and appreciate the plants, bugs and life in your backyard or park.

·    Start a garden – have a child help you plant herbs and some veggies in a garden or containers on your deck or balcony – watching food grow is an amazing thing.

·    Climb a tree – we’ve become so protective of our kids that we forget to let them be kids.  Teach a child how to safely climb a tree.  Sit in the tree with them and watch for birds.  

·    Make a sandbox -  Get a couple bags of sand, a few boards and bang together a small sandbox.  Girls and boys can play for hours in sand – it’s creative, meditative and calming.

·    Watch clouds -  find a field or hill on one of those good cloud days then lay back and enjoy the show.  Name the clouds or describe what they look like to each other.

Do yourself, a kid and mother nature a favor and take a kid outside – just do it.