It’s been a problem parents have been dealing with since TV first became a thing. Now that our kids are getting plenty of free time, there are plenty of temptations bringing them indoors for the summer. However, who doesn’t want their kids out enjoying the sunshine, some fresh air, and moving around? If you’re worried that your family might end up spending the season as a bag of couch potatoes, here are a few ways to encourage them to get out there.
Limit their indoor tech time
You need to give your kids positive reasons to want to spend time outdoors. However, you might also want to take away a few of the temptations that might lead them astray. There are plenty of good reasons to limit your kid’s screen time, and apps you can use on phones like ScreenTime as well as features in most TVs, digital boxes, gaming consoles, and more, to limit playtime on them.
Go exploring
Most kids aren’t against the idea of going out, they just imagine they will get bored away from their creature comforts. One of the best ways to show how that won’t be the case is to find your local parks, woodlands, beaches, or other natural beauty spots. A nice family walk and adventure out to areas they haven’t visited before can be really invigorating.
Create an outdoor play space
If you have plenty of room in your backyard, then you can make it even more tempting and engaging by adding some outdoor play activities and spaces. Adding a slide, a swing, a see-saw and the like is a good start. With stores like Cornhole Worldwide, you can even make some competitive games with your family to get everyone out playing together. It can be a lot more valuable in the long-term than having to take trips out to the local play park.
Send them off to a camp
Though some kids might be nervous about the idea of going to camp, there’s no denying that it’s an excellent way to get them out of the home. Most camp experiences, such as zoo camp, have excellent socializing activities, interesting learning opportunities, and give your kids the chance to get away from direct parental supervision for a while. There are also camp experiences that return your kids to you at the end of every day for those who don’t want to be apart from their kids for quite that long.
Take the tech outside
Some kids are just really tech-focused. It’s great if you can wean them off their reliance on all things gadgety but, until then, why not have fun with tech outdoors? Playing with AR apps on smartphones to go exploring the real world is one example, and it’s much cheaper than having to buy a drone.
If you really want to encourage your kids to spend more time outdoors, then it’s important you take that first step with them. There’s nothing like a little family participation to make sure they get that fear of missing out.
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