We all know how important moving more is to effectively maintain a healthy lifestyle, and outdoor activities are an excellent way to connect with nature, build key life skills and make memories that will last a lifetime.
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As this NCT article explains, outdoor play has a variety of benefits for children, but encouraging them to put down their devices and go outside can be tricky. Here are six tricks that should get even the most stubborn kids outdoors playing and having fun.
Organize an After-School Play Group
Meeting other parents and children at the local park or playing field gives young people the opportunity to strengthen friendships as they enjoy playing some games. This is excellent after school or weekend activity – just don’t forget the snacks or football.
Pack a Picnic
Eating outside is always a fun activity. Pack a picnic dinner and take it along to your local park or playground. After eating, kids can play games, run around, explore and meet other children.
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Gradually Increase Your Children’s Level of Independence
When your children are old enough, start by allowing them to walk up and down your street alone. From here, when they are ready, they can progress to walking around the block and visiting nearby playgrounds.
Explore Somewhere New Every Weekend
It’s fun to explore new places, so why not make it a mission to go to as many different playgrounds, parks and other child-friendly locations in your town or city as possible? If you would like a more permanent sanctuary situated in natural surroundings, exploring park homes for sale, like the ones that can be seen at http://www.parkhomelife.com, could help you to increase valuable family time and encourage your kids to spend more time being physically active outside.
Create an Outdoor Scavenger Hunt
Many children love exploring, and outdoor scavenger hunts can be personalized to include things from nature that can be found in your local area. You could even include fun activities, like finding puddles to jump over and grassy hills to roll down.
Go for Walks and Bike Rides in Nature
Exploring natural settings offers excellent family bonding time. Lots of urban areas have bike paths and walking trails nearby, and having a few child-friendly games to play, such as ‘I spy’ or ‘follow the leader’, will keep the fun levels high.
