I have a spring challenge for you. As the days begin to get warmer and the snow begins to melt, it’s time for children to head outside. Of course, you may have been playing outdoors all winter, but if you haven’t been keen to embrace chilly weather and heaps of snow, here’s your chance. When the snow melts and snow pants and long jackets are less necessary, this is the perfect time for you and your preschooler to head outdoors.
Children these days are suffering from a lack of outdoor time. They sit in front of computer screens more than in fields, and they play organized sports indoors and out instead of exploring and climbing trees and roughhousing with a soccer ball. But kids need to be outdoors. Free play outdoors grows kids’ brains, and being outdoors calms children and gives them fresh air. It’s good for you too, for the same reasons. It is also a very good way to stop doing chores for a while and just relax. Dishes don’t follow you outdoors.
This is my challenge to you and to me. We’ve had a relatively easy winter here: no huge piles of snow, no excessive amounts of rain. Yet with all of the busy time in our lives, what with preschool and a class and errands and life in general, it’s easy to forget to play outside. Particularly when your child is only interested in playing with other children and the other children you know don’t play outdoors either. And I’m an environmental educator: I’m motivated, and my kid hasn’t gotten enough outdoor time this winter either.
My challenge to you is this: for the next week, get outdoors with your child for the equivalent of your child’s screen time. For us that is around 30 minutes a day. Thirty minutes a day of television, at least thirty of outdoor play. Sound reasonable?
Ok, let’s go!