How to get your ‘indoor kid’, outdoors! My son LOVES everything indoors – his iPad, YouTube, cuddling up with his cat, and would spend all weekend curled up indoors if he could. He’s not into team sports, and not really a fan of messy play so whilst he’s an ‘easy’ kid to have around, you may not know he’s there sometimes, I am conscious that he has different kinds of experiences in his life, to expose him to new things.
I think kids have a natural inclination for different types of play, and the quiet, creative kids need as much stimulation as the boisterous, energetic kids. I also think it’s important to continually but gently stretch their comfort zones, to not let them become too comfortable with (in my son’s case) staying indoors all the time as I don’t think it will serve him in the future to be someone who is too firmly ‘set in his ways’!
So to encourage my lad outdoors, we recently did a few fun activities together, to breathe in the crisp air and have a different kind of mother-son interaction than the cuddles on the sofa kind that we also do a lot of! Here’s how I got my indoor kid, outdoors!
Firstly he needs to be warm. He’s like me, we like to be comfortable and dislike getting too cold, so I wrapped him up in this Rannoch jacket from Berghaus which comes from the kids range at Blacks. It is warm with lightweight insulation, has zips that extend all the way up to keep the cold air out and has a lovely hood to keep his head warm. It is fully waterproof so he stays cosy even when it’s pouring outside, and he loves the zipped breast pocket where he could stash his phone safely!
Once we are dressed for the great outdoors, the next step is to do something fun and exploratory. As you can see from the photos, I took him to the park and we did a spot of birdwatching and looked for worms with a magnifying glass (I even brought a jam jar in case he wanted to take one away with him but for him, seeing them in the ground was enough!) We also fed the ducks and he posed with a big foam finger to point out the ones he liked best! Out of all the activities we did that afternoon, feeding the ducks was his favourite. He has a real soft spot for all animals and loves to care for them, to this appealed to his nurturing side.
Whether your child likes duck feeding or not, here are some other ways to encourage outdoor play:
Thank you to Blacks for sending my son the Rannoch jacket. Their Berghaus Kids collection has a great range of jackets for children aged 3-13 and they also have a lifetime guarantee – great news for style and value conscious mums!
How do you encourage the kids to play outdoors? Let me know in the comments!
Ah that jacket looks nice, warm and trendy too! Luckily my older two love being outside as much as inside but a good coat definitely helps! x
my daughter likes staying in too, so helpful ☺
That jacket looks so warm and comfortable! It looks like he’s really enjoying the great outdoors. My younger son is a strange one – he loves team sports, but if he hasn’t got football or rugby to play, he becomes an outdoor kid too! He is hooked on his DS and YouTube, so I’m very grateful for his football and rugby!
Berghaus jackets are great aren’t they? Mine love being outdoors, but won’t agree to go anywhere without the right stuff on! They have lived in countries where there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing for too long! 😀
I love anything and everything from the Berghaus range. Your child’s jacket looks lovely and snug, durable too!
I am afraid I have raised outdoor children although sometimes they don’t want to leave the house. Pokemon Go seems to persuade the teen out of his room
I love getting my kids outside and exploring in all kinds of weather.