How to get your kids to spend more time outdoors without starting a rebellion

Spending time outdoors is fun, healthy, and good for everyone. But let´s be honest, sometimes the kids are just not digging it – heck, sometimes the adults are not. Sometimes, the couch and the TV just look too tempting. So, what do we do in these moments, when we need some extra motivation to get our kids to spend more time outdoors?

We have some tricks that work for us and some favorite activities that do the trick every time, but to get a different perspective, we have asked 10 other parent bloggers what they do to motivate their kids to spend more time outdoors. The answers are super inspiring, and we will definitely be adding some of their ideas to our activity plan this summer!

So let´s get inspired together!

Going on a color walk – great motivation for your kids to spend more time outdoors

Julie from Feel More Connected takes color walks for motivation to spend more time outdoors. We love the idea!

“A really joyful way of motivating kids and adults alike to spend time outdoors is to go on a color walk in nature. Not only is it fun, and even competitive if you want to add in prizes, I’ve found it to be a really fun way of appreciating the beauty and wonders of nature. There are a lot more colors out there than you might think, especially if you consider the different growth phases of a plant. It could even lead to an art or craft project based around a specific color.

All you need to do is pick a color to look for and head outdoors to spot as many different shades of it as possible. Look closely at tiny flowers or turn over stones and leaves to find fresh tones. Fallen leaves are often surprisingly different from one side to the other but even fresh, juicy green ones will have at least 3 different shades: the veins, the top and the underside.

Picture by Feel More Connected

Top tip for choosing your color: It can be hard to decide what’s pink and what’s purple so feel free to make up your own guidelines about that. Same goes for orange, red and yellow. I grouped pinkish purples together and looked for blueish purples on a separate color walk.”

Related: 5 ways outdoor play benefits your children

Spend time at the beach

Monica from Conquering Motherhood loves to go to the beach with her kids. Great idea – who does not love the beach…

Picture by Conquering Motherhood

“My best tip to motivate kids to spend more time outdoors is to take advantage of the good weather and take them to the beach, particularly in summer. This is going to be easier if you leave close to the sea obviously but, even if you don’t, try squeeze in a summer vacation at the beach if you can.

If you have a little baby who’s still crawling or has just started walking, one of the best tips that I usually give parents is to take a little inflatable pool with you. Fill it with water and leave it in the sun a little bit, so that the water warms up, then enjoy watching your baby splashing around everywhere in it!

If you have older kids, you can introduce them to surfing or snorkeling. And, if it’s summer, you are bound to bump into other families with kids the same age they can make friends with.”

Setting family goals to motivate kids to spend more time outdoors

Charlene from Adventures with the Hills sets family goals with her kids – and that way they have way higher motivation to spend time outdoors to achieve those goals. Definitely something we will try soon!

“One of the ways we motivate our kids to spend more time outdoors is to set family goals. When we have something we’re working on together, it’s exciting to get out and tackle the challenge.

Picture by Adventures with the Hills

The first time we set a family goal together, we were training for a 19km hike into Havasu Canyon. We knew we had to practice hiking and increase our endurance and our kids were happy to strap on their hydro packs and work on longer hikes! In the Winter, when it was harder to get out in the cold, we set a goal to spend at least 15 minutes outdoors every day in February. We had a snowflake split into 28 sections that we would color in each day after we spent time outside.

We’re currently working on hiking the Bruce Trail, a 900km trail in Ontario, Canada. Our kids love getting badges as we complete each new section of the trail. Reaching our goal, along with the amazing hiking, keeps us motivated! So set some family goals, maybe even add in a reward at the end, and enjoy the outdoors!”

Letterboxing with kids

Amelia from Tales of a Mountain Mama suggested letterboxing. I had never heard of this before, but it sounds like an amazing activity!

“Letterboxing for kids is one of my favorite ways to get reluctant kids outside and moving their bodies. It’s very much like an outdoor scavenger hunt that you don’t have to set up yourself since there are many letterboxes already placed all over the country.

While it is similar to geocaching, letterboxing does not require GPS for exact destination, rather hints to get you to the right spot. Also letterboxing doesn’t have trinkets, or “geoswag” to take and keep. Instead, the letterbox is just a stamp and log book, which stays in the container after you’ve found it.

Letterboxes can be set up on your own (and then added to the database for others to find), or you can just look for ones that are already there. My kids love any opportunity to “find treasure” and letterboxing is a great way to get started and get everyone out the door.”

Visit playgrounds to motivate your kids to spend more time outdoors

Asha from hometravelguide recommends visiting playgrounds on outings to motivate the kids to set their feet out of the door – also something that has worked very well for us. Especially since there were no playgrounds in Nepal where we lived when my daughter was small, she loved them every time we came to Europe.

Picture by Home Travel Guide

“As a family we love to be outdoors but there are times when our young kids lack a bit of motivation especially when we want to do a long walk and the weather may be a bit chilly. As we know that our kids love playgrounds, we plan a walk where we either start with a playground stop or end with one. This works out great because the kids are happy to have their own play time and we are happy as we get to do our walk with no groaning. If we start with a playground stop then we usually tell them ahead of time that they have 30 minutes to play as much as they want and then we start our walk and it works perfectly for us.  As an extra tip you can choose a playground with a little cafe where you can relax with a tea or coffee but don’t get too comfortable otherwise you won’t get your walk started :). Here is an example of one we did with 2 awesome playground stops.”

Birdwatching with kids

Greg from Year of the Dad has an amazing tip to motivate kids to go out more – take them birdwatching. We love birdwatching and totally agree with his tips!

Picture by Year of the Dad

“I like to take my kids outside and listen to nature. In particular, I have them be really quiet and listen for birds. Once we hear them, we try to find out where the birds are sitting.

I ask:

Are they in a tree?

Are they perched on the house?

Are they in a birdhouse?

If the birds have really nice colors, I will ask them “What color are the birds?”. And with the older kids, I will ask them what kind of bird do they see.

Related: Birdwatching with kids

We have birdhouses on our trees to attract more birds and we check periodically to see if they have built a nest and laid eggs. On occasion, I will take them to our local Nature Station where they have birds that have been injured and must live in captivity. They get to see some really cool and unusual birds up close and find out more about them. The handlers will get the birds off their perch and bring them closer to the kids and allow the kids to ask questions.”

Pretend to travel to motivate your kids to get out more

Nancy from Around the World at the Weekend had an amazing idea for motivation: Pretend to travel with your kids. They have explored some fascinating destinations already!

Picture by Around the World at the Weekend

“Whether we are pretending our local wood is a Peruvian rain forest, that our local beach is the Algave or hunting out unique local attractions like Dutch Windmill at Lytham we love to pretend travel the world. Each of our pretend travel days involves the food and activities associated with the country we are ‘visiting’ and of course it’s the perfect excuse for getting us all outdoors. It’s amazing what you can find locally when you start to look! We discovered horses we could go an pet horses in a local field when we pretended to visit Argentina and climbed right to the highest sand dune we could find when we climbed ‘Everest’ in ‘Nepal’.”

Related: Altitude Hiking with Children

Visiting National Parks and become a Junior Ranger

Lisa from Planning Away had a great suggestion: Becoming a Junior Ranger at a National Park. We are not from the US, so this is new to us, but it sounds like a great program to motivate kids to go outdoors more!

Picture by Planning Away

“One way to get your kids excited about spending time outside is exploring the National Parks.  There are 63 parks located across the United States and 5 Utah National Parks which are our favorites!

The first thing we do before we explore any national park is stop by the visitor center and get a junior ranger book.  These books offer activities for kids to complete as they hike and explore the area.  When you are finished you can bring your book back to the park ranger and he/she will swear you in as a junior ranger.  You will get a badge.  It is fun to collect one at each park you visit.

At some parks, such as Yellowstone there are other programs for kids.  These programs cost a few dollars but are well worth it. The scientific program is so cool.  It has a thermometer that you can measure the temperature of the paint pots and even Old Faithful.

My kids love the programs.  They tend to complain when told they have to hike. When they have the books in their hands and are looking for specific items it is a great distraction.  They do not even realize that they are hiking!  It is great!

We think this is the best way to get the kids outside and enjoying nature!”

Outdoor Photography for Kids

Lisa from Champion your Parenting had a great suggestion that has also worked very well for us in the past: outdoor photography for kids. Since my daughter got her camera, she enjoys our hikes much more, as she is always on the lookout for a good motive!

“Do your kids love to take pictures? Does an outdoor kid’s photoshoot sound like a fun activity?

Picture by Champion your Parenting

I gave the kids an old digital camera I had in the closet and they were thrilled. They spent the rest of the afternoon happily exploring the outdoors.

Having a camera made them feel like they were professional photographers. They ran from one patch of flowers to another looking for butterflies and caterpillars. They zoomed in on the lilies growing by the woods and they tried to catch a bird in flight. The camera even came along as we took a hike at the local state park.

Kids outdoor photography is so much fun and there are many ways to take it to another level. Tap into the natural enthusiasm kids have for taking pictures.

• Gifts for parents and grandparents – Take their favorite photo and frame it.
• Photo collage – The budding photographer could create a collage of their favorite shots.
• Challenge them to find opposites – The goal is to photograph the ugliest/prettiest or darkest/lightest or smallest/largest.
• Nameplate – See if they can use nature to write the letters in their names. Take one shot of each letter and place them together to create a beautiful name plate.
• Have a photo contest – If you have several kids, you could challenge them to pick their favorite photos, print and display them for the contest.

This unplanned kid’s photography idea produced beautiful results. I bet your kids will enjoy it too.”

Thanks everyone for sharing with us! We just love these ideas and will definitely try some of them soon! What are your favorite ideas to motivate your kids to go out more? We would love to hear.