One of the best things you can do for your child during their formative years is to get them out into the great outdoors. Often it’s hard enough to pry them from their games consoles, let alone convince them to run around outside, but with these practical approaches, you can get your kids closer to nature:
Go Hiking
Even from a young age, you can take your child out for small hikes or walks in the forest. Maintain this as an unshaking tradition, even when they grow up and start calling your treks “boring.” When you can’t motivate them to put on their walking boots, create incentives such as a nice lunch out or a small ice cream.
Get Enthusiastic About Nature
If you’re enthusiastic about nature, it’ll rub off on your kids. Don’t lecture them on wildlife or the outdoors, but share your wonder at the world. A great way to do this at home is to cultivate a garden. By growing your own vegetables and flowers, your child will learn about the importance of plants. They’ll also get excited when they grow their very fist pumpkin or bean.
Create your own compost pile and emphasise the importance of taking care of the environment. Encourage your kids to muck in where possible and give them their own patch to look after. Create soups and stews from vegetables your kids grow for a delicious reward!
If you’re not green-fingered already, it’s a great time to learn, and gardening can provide exceptional exercise. Tuck a small person’s gardening set into your child’s stocking this Christmas and start making your back yard wildlife friendly. By planting flowers, you’ll be supporting the dwindling bee population and setting up a bird feeder will encourage feathered friends to appear in your garden.
Encourage Animal Care
Your child will start to show a liking for certain animals, so encourage this with cuddly toys. Buy them books to read about their favourite creature and organise trips to see them in their natural habitat; whether that’s through holidays abroad, zoos, or aquariums. These educational tripscan really get your children interacting with animals; especially if there is a petting area.
You can even “adopt” a wild animal, establishing a personal connection between your child and their favourite creature. You’ll also be supporting conservation through zoos like Knowsley, which are working to make sure some beautiful species are still around for your grandchildren to enjoy.
Get your children a pet to look after. Not only will this promote a love of animals, but it will get the kids outside when the pet needs a walk. Dogs are ideal for outdoor activity, as they need lots of exercise.
Camp Out
Your back garden is a free campsite. When the days are warm, encourage your children to spend a few nights in a tent in the garden. Make this more special by setting up a small campfire or barbeque in the evening and toast some marshmallows. For a real camping experience, forgo the kitchen and cook breakfast on a small stove.
This guest post has been written and contributed by Zoe, a travel blogger from the UK. She is currently writing on behalf of https://www.knowsleysafariexperience.co.uk.
image is from www.freedigitalphotos.net