4 Ways to Encourage Kids to Play Outside

As poets, artists and philosophers have shown us for centuries, the natural world is a great inspiration. People marvel at the beauty and wonder of the natural environment all over the world. And it's never too young to start getting your little ones to take note of the earth and its many offerings. In fact, simply getting children to play outside when they are young can spark off a true passion for the environment.

So here's how as a parent you can get your kids love playing outside and not just play indoors and get inspired by the natural world.

The benefits of the natural world for little ones

Most adults know that a walk in nature can make us feel better on even the gloomiest of days or a swim at the beach, or an adventure in the jungle. And children are no different. They just don't yet know how to spend time outdoors. Help them get excited about playing outside so that the child loves seeing what the places around them have to offer.

There are lots of different ways to do this. You could start by simply encouraging them to play sports and team games that need to be done outside. For example try introducing easy soccer ball and cricket games for kids or take them on an orienteering walk where they'll be able to take in the environment while engaging with something fun.

You can carry some good story books, worksheets, toys, travel games for kids like boardless games to play without cards in free time depending on the age of your kid, games on your smartphones or tablets.

How Playing Outside Can Inspire Your Children

Ways to get your kids to enjoy an outdoor activity

Want to get your children enjoying the outside fresh air, but not quite sure how? Here are few fun ideas:

1. Plan a treasure hunt

One really fun way of getting kids to play outside is to set them a treasure hunt. Hide simple clues in different parts of your neighbourhood and send them out in teams (with a responsible adult attached!) to race towards the end.

2. Show them lots of different environments

The outdoors is a pretty massive place so if you want to get your kids excited about it try showing them some of the variety. Use holidays and weekends to explore rivers, mountains, jungles and oceans.

3. Link the natural world to different opportunities

Want your kids to see the real opportunities the natural world brings? Go for playdates in a local zoo and let them see what it’s like to work with animals. Or let them help out in the garden and see how much they learn about growing plants.

4. Do things that you couldn't do inside

Easy cricket games for kids are a great starter here - it's not something that can be done in the living room and inspiring a love of cricket will mean older children will also have a reason to get out of the house. If cricket isn't their thing, try other sports like hockey, football or athletics.

Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports that combines elements of the tennis, paddle tennis, badminton and ping pong. It is an easy game to learn and is competitive for players of all ages, from children to seniors. It's easy to learn, fast paced, and a lot of fun to play due to the long rallies that occur over the course of a game.

In fact, this new modality began as a playground game, in which children, young people and adolescents usually occupied their vacation time, but its easy learning and the low risk of injury for competitors allowed it to spread quickly.

Those are just a few ways to help inspire your children not to watch TV and reduce screen time but to get outside and be physically active. In these screen-filled times when it seems that childhood is increasingly taken up with social media posts and selfies help kids explore what’s really going in the great outdoors.
Kalyan Panja