There are lots of ways to build a healthy, secure bond with your little one but did you know spending time outdoors is one of them? In this post we explore several reasons why spending time in nature is great for bonding with your child.
The first few years of a child’s life are undoubtedly very important. While there are lots of ways to bond with your child (or even your grandchild), experiencing the great outdoors together can be a simple activity and comes with lots of additional benefits.
It provides fresh air, exercise and all-important vitamin D. Getting you both moving and releasing endorphins is brilliant for a mood-boost and feels all the better doing it together.
When you spend time outside, you’re exposed to natural light and this can help regulate our circadian rhythm and potentially improve sleep quality and pattern. The outdoors also offers the perfect backdrop for quality time.
Firstly, there are less distractions. Screens, TVs and tablets can be limited when outdoors. This means that you can give your child your full attention and they’re not distracted by a screen in front of them. Eliminating screens during your outside play can provide a much richer bonding experience for both of you.
Being outdoors also helps to regulate our emotions. This is true for children too. Time spent in nature can boost emotional wellbeing and reduce stress levels. There’s even evidence to suggest that playing with mud can reduce anxiety in children.
As well as this, getting outside provides a wonderful learning opportunity. Young children are like sponges, and are constantly absorbing information from all around them. Counting, pointing out different tree and flower species, growing food, and finding shapes, patterns and colours can help encourage a love of learning as well as nature.
And it’s this nature-based learning that we love to encourage in our classes. By learning outdoors together, not only are you nurturing their natural inquisitiveness, but as mentioned, spending time in nature is great for bonding with your child.
Some ideas on how to spend time outdoors together could be:
- Go for a nature walk. Take a bag or basket and collect treasure along the way.
- Paint a picture and find natural items outside that match the colours.
- Discover a new playground that you haven’t visited before.
- Visit a local farm park, city farm, nature reserve or wetland centre to learn about animals in nature and get exploring together.
- Head out for an alfresco picnic! It doesn’t have to be an elaborate spread of food, just a sandwich or a snack can be enjoyed sitting on a bench or log seat and enjoy the view together.
- See our outdoor summer challenges blog for more great ideas.
In a world where we are constantly busy, slowing down to, in some cases quite literally, “smell the roses” together may help to forge a strong connection between you and your little one.
