No matter what age your child is, playing outdoors is greatly beneficial to them. There are so many things they could learn outdoors and so many experiences that their gadgets couldn’t provide. Nothing beats the learning they could get from actual and hands-on experience. If you have an indoor child who doesn’t really like going out to play, now is the right time to encourage him or her to go out and explore.
Here are some tips that could help make your child look forward and enjoy outdoor time more than just staying indoors.
Make Outdoor Time More Fun
First of all, the outdoors should look more fun. Your child won’t feel interested to go out if they think that it is just boring. As a parent, you can make it more fun for them by sparking their imagination. Look for fun things you could do with them like playing a sport, treasure hunting, going out to a play park, and many more. When children see the outdoors as more fun and exciting, they would leave their gadgets and choose outdoor play more than their gadgets.
Give Them Options
Feeling bored is healthy for kids. When they are bored, they will explore more things to entertain themselves. They could even invent a new game sometimes because of boredom. When your child complains to you that they are bored, you could give them some options to pick an activity that they want to do.
For instance, you could bring some outdoor toys such as kids sand pits and many more. You could also try doing some new activity outside such as camping or playing some board games. You could even ask them for suggestions to get fresh ideas.
Invite Their Friends Over
Playing outdoors would be a lot more fun when they have their friends around rather than just playing by themselves. If you want your child to become more interested in outdoor play, inviting their friends and some relatives can make it more exciting for them. Aside from having more kids to play with, it also helps develop their social and emotional skills by learning how to deal and mingle with different kinds of people. You could even extend the fun by hosting an outdoor event for the kids.
Regularly Go Outside as a Family
When children are used to going outside regularly, they are more confident to try out new things and experiences. Set some time for the whole family to go out, whether it is at the playground, park, or anywhere your child likes. It also helps build your child’s self-esteem and confidence and know more about the world around them and how to behave appropriately on different situations.
Encouraging your child to enjoy outdoor play could be a little challenging. However, everything is worth the effort once you see how much enjoyment your child gets on his outdoor time. Nurture your child’s holistic development by letting them experience the whole fun of the outdoors.