Kiddipedia
Attributed to Linda Drummond, Author, How to Raise Outdoor Kids
It sounds simple doesn’t it? But raising kids who love and cherish the outdoors (with just the right balance of caution and fearlessness) is an art. Australian Geographic’s How to Raise Outdoor Kids is an ode to the outdoors. It’s about guiding your child to find activities and environments where they can escape and set their imaginations free so their bodies can run wild.
Here are five ways to raise outdoor kids
- Be child-led. When it comes to getting kids interested in the outdoors, it’s important to give them time, space and opportunities to pique their interest. This often means taking things slowly, realllllly slowly. Go for a big walk around your neighbourhood – follow your kids’ lead, and go at their pace. Encourage them to look up, look down and use all their senses (hearing, smell, touch as well as sight). Seeing things from a kid’s eye view really can be eye-opening.
- Mix things up. For kids, nothing can be more fun that doing regular things at irregular times or places. Kids LOVE a night-time picnic. And if it’s in winter, when they can rug up and sip foods from a thermos all the better. You’ll be surprised at what you can cook over a fire wrapped in foil. Getting outside at night gives an opportunity to look at the night skies – to recognise constellations, take note of the phases of the moon, and adjust your eyes to see the Milky Way. You don’t need a telescope either – a simple pair of binoculars will reveal a whole new galaxy. And it’s a great time to listen to night sounds – frogs, geckos and other creatures that come out to play when the sun goes down.
- Plant for Other Species. No matter where you live, you and your kids can plant a garden or prepare some space for insects, frogs, birds and wildlife. Whether it’s a pile of rocks for lizards to hide under and sun on, a nesting box for native bees, or a vege garden to attract birds, butterflies and insects – kids love watching things they’ve planted grow. So, imagine how much they’ll love seeing that they’ve created a home for someone else! If you don’t have a yard, perhaps there’s a Community Garden near you – or you could create one!
- Before you reduce, reuse or recycle – upcycle! To help kids understand that we have finite resources on the planet, get them involved in upcycling. It could be as simple as cutting and covering old cereal boxes in wrapping paper to store books and magazines, creating cushions or bedcovers from old and well-loved clothing, to repurposing jars and boxes for toy storage. Fire up their imagination and curiosity and save items from landfill.
- Explore and more. Kids love striding out and learning something new. Get them to explore areas and document their journeys by making maps, taking photos or creating nature tables with items found along the way. Find out more about the land on which you live. Who are the traditional owners of the land and what’s the traditional name for your area? What amazing natural items do you have near you? Beaches? Mangroves? Creeks? Hills? Bushland? What makes it unique? What makes it majestic?
Kids have so many questions – let them explore the answers for themselves by getting outdoors, exploring, rummaging and thinking big. How to Raise Outdoor Kids is packed with ideas for you and your kids. It’s designed to be read together, to plan your next big (or small) adventure and find something for every child to love. It’s for quiet kids, loud kids and every in-between kid. It’s to help them connect with this glorious planet we’re lucky enough to call home so they can nurture it forever more.
How to Raise Outdoor Kids is available via www.australiangeographic.com.au and includes chapters of fun activities for families to explore together.
