Tips for Getting Your Child Outside and Into Nature 

With summer upon us, it’s the perfect time to encourage your child to get outside and spend some time in nature. 

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children up to six years old should get between 60 and 90 minutes of outdoor play daily, a milestone that is often unreached by many families. In many families, children spend most of their time in front of screens—which has only been exacerbated by the pandemic’s demand for remote learning.

Children today spend so much time indoors that a new disorder has been defined: Nature deficit disorder. With the average American child spending over 7 hours a day in front of a screen, upping your child’s daily dose of the outdoors can be a challenge—but it’s a worthwhile one with a long list of benefits. 

What Are The Benefits of Being Outdoors? 

Whether you opt for an afternoon walk or unstructured backyard playtime, spending time outside has numerous health benefits for children of all ages. 

• It fosters creativity and imagination. When spending time outdoors with unstructured playtime, children learn to interact meaningfully and intentionally with their surroundings. They can create their own games or activities, pursue unique interests in the world, and gain a deeper sense of connection and curiosity to the magic of nature. 
• It gets children active and moving. Being outdoors requires children to be much more active than spending time on their electronics. Time spent outdoors can provide a powerful energy boost for your child and get them excited to move their body. 

• It reduces stress, fatigue, and exhaustion. Urban environments require what’s called “directed attention,” which forces our bodies to ignore distractions. This state of mind can be exhausting and stressful for our brains. Spending time in natural environments, according to the Attention Restoration Theory, allows our bodies and minds to practice “soft fascination,” which results in relaxation. 

• It boosts executive function. Executive functions are skills that help us plan, prioritize, troubleshoot, negotiate, and multitask—by being outdoors in nature, your child will gain opportunities to practice these important skills. 

Tips for Getting Your Child Outside 

Now that you understand the importance of getting your child outdoors, here are some fun activities you can start to incorporate into your daily and weekly routines: 

• Organize an outdoor play date. Get your child’s friends together and suggest an outdoor play date at a nearby park, creek, or lake. Let them play and explore together and remember to remind them that it’s okay to get messy and dirty. 

• Give your child toys for a backyard play session. Because many children today are constantly stimulated, it can be a challenge for them to come up with their own creative endeavors at first. Get their brain working by providing some fun toys or tools: Sidewalk chalk, balls, buckets, hula hoops, magnifying glasses, bug boxes, or anything else that might intrigue your child.

• Set up a treasure hunt. Treasure hunts are always a great way to get kids engaged. Create a short, simple list of objects or items for your child to search for outdoors. It can be something as simple as “a shiny object,” or “an item that holds water.”  

• Go fruit or vegetable picking. There’s nothing better than picking your own strawberries in Onslow County. When u-pick orchards open, take your family for a day of fruit or vegetable picking. Coming up with a basket of fresh food that your child has gathered on their own is incredibly rewarding—and it may open their eyes to how food is grown, produced, and then shipped to grocery stores. Mike’s Farm is a popular destination, featuring seasonal hayrides, strawberry picking, and a family-style restaurant. You can also search on LocalHarvest for pick-your-own fruits and vegetables in Onslow County. 

• Plant a garden. If you don’t have a garden, consider starting one this spring! It can be an awesome way to get your child involved in taking care of living plants, watching the cycle of life, and seeing the seeds you planted gradually grow into something you can enjoy on your plate. Growing your own garden also provides a tremendous sense of achievement. 

• Try Story Walks at the Park. One Place collaborates with Onslow County Parks and Recreation to maintain five Story Walks at the Park—a wonderful way to spend time outdoors with your child! With pages of children’s books mounted on posts that line a path, Story Walks are a great way to spend time in nature while boosting your child’s literacy skills. Plus, each park has a different story each month—so you can visit often and your child will be introduced to a new narrative each time! Learn more here.  

• Find a Little Free Library. One Place maintains 54 Little Free Libraries throughout Onslow County. Readers are encouraged to “take a book and return a book.” Stop by one of our Little Free Libraries and then spend some time reading in nature—without distraction and without “teachable moments.” If you have access to a local creek or park, encourage your child to read, watch, observe, and notice the world around them. By simply existing, you may see nature uninterrupted. Find a Little Free Library here.

• Get curious! As a parent, your own reactions to nature will influence your child. Approach each interaction with the natural world with curiosity, excitement, and wonder—so your child can gradually understand many of the great mysteries of nature and be intrigued to learn more, follow their interests, and stay curious.

• Enjoy your local park. Onslow County is home to a number of beautiful parks. Find the one closest to you and explore!

Let us know how you and your family are spending time in nature this spring and summer! Follow One Place on social media to join the conversation. Stay tuned for an upcoming blog with the best outdoor places to play in Onslow County!