If you’re a regular reader of my blog, then you will know that as a family we love to get outdoors whatever the weather. There is nothing better than being outside in the fresh air and burning off all that extra energy the girls have. They don’t need to be persuaded to go on a walk, as they love it just as much as we do.
I think that most parents know that it is good for their child to get outdoors, but how often do they actually do it? An independent study carried out by Roehampton University showed that 1,000 children are being referred to hospital for obesity, and 1 in 3 children aged between 2 and 10 years old for being overweight. These results shocked me and as a result schools are being encouraged to increase and improve physical activity in the playground and ESP Play are helping schools achieve this.
How can you encourage your child to be outdoors more?
- Go for a walk and make it interesting for them. It doesn’t matter where you walk to, it could be around your streets and you could make a list of things for them to spot along the way, like a post box, a green car, a dog etc and they tick them off along the way.
- A walk in the woods for a nature walk. My girls love nothing more than taking their binoculars on a walk and seeing what they can spot. Our binoculars also has a compass on it, and they give us directions on whether we’re travelling north or south.
- Give them a basket to collect items along the way. Holly loves to collect things on walks, mainly sticks and stones. But you can add leaves, fir cones etc
- A trip to the beach whatever the weather. We love the beach in the winter, just as much as we do in the summer. Holly will build her sandcastles and Alice will write in the sand. They put their wellies on and jump in the waves. You can’t beat the sea air.
- A woods not far from us has a trim trail all through the woods. This is great for encouraging them to walk further, as they walk for a bit and then spot another trim trail to go on and then walk a bit more. All the way around. It’s great for their balance, building strength and confidence that they can actually do it.
- Head to the park. Parks are great for getting children active. They are full of wooden climbing frames, for children to climb up, walk along and have fun. They are exercising without even realising it.
- Since the girls have been able to ride their bikes and Andy and I got bikes ourselves. We love to go out on a bike ride and as the girls get older I can see this becoming a bigger part of our lives. Its really great exercise for all the family and a great way to travel too.
How do you encourage your children to head outdoors?
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post with ESP Play.
