The Importance of Getting Your Children Into Nature

by Nikki Parnell — October 20, 2019

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Pace quickens. One foot forward. Then the next. Squeals of delight from the boy child ahead. Happy panting sounds, like an excited puppy, come from my baby girl.  She’s on my shoulders, in the backpack, her favorite place to be.

The sky is blue and bright. The air, chilly, tells me fall has arrived. We are out in the elements, there is joy there and all three of us can’t help but laugh.

What is it that makes the simple act of getting outside with your kids so magical?

Perhaps it’s the relief of surviving the effort it took to get out the door.  The focused determination to gather the children and the clothes and the extra clothes and the snacks and myself without losing heart and throwing in the towel. Extra points if I do all this without sweating profusely or raising my voice or forgetting my three-times reheated coffee for the drive.

Sometimes I do fail though. I have every intention to get outside but the chaos wins out and all I can do is put on a movie for the kids, for all of us really, and ice cream may or may not enter the scene as well. I allow myself grace and think, tomorrow we’ll try again, tomorrow we’ll get out in nature.

But if the stars align and we do make it to the river, the trail, or the mountains, it’s more than just a relief. It’s the stimulation from pure air filling our lungs, the space to roam and move without restraint, the hint of adventure and the unknown around each bend in the trail. It’s the light reflecting in the kids’ eyes and the complete wonder on their faces as they contemplate the minute details of this planet. They can run and stretch and test their bodies one moment, then stop and be still, observing the dew drops on pine needles the next. 

I have always loved nature, but my children have a way of re-teaching me how incredible it actually is. When they ask questions and I’m forced to remember the precise details of a butterfly’s life cycle. Or when they want you to overturn every log in sight and identify all the different crawling critters scurrying for cover. We’re obviously in a bug phase.

In these moments, it hits you that nature is literally magic! Like Harry Potter levels of magic. As adults, we’ve had a lifetime of exposure and our eyes can glaze over or go dim. But we need to start seeing the natural world for what it is again, a grand mysterious display of magic and beauty. It’s sad, really, that we get so busy with our lives and take it all for granted. So I’m grateful to my kids for allowing me the opportunity to take a second look, to see through the eyes of someone learning about it for the first time. I absolutely love it when my boy sees a beautiful landscape, a rushing waterfall, or brilliantly hued sunset, and says, “that’s really pretty, Mama.” Or when the sun is out he will say, “It’s a beautiful day today! I have happy feelings!” It’s sinking into him, he processing it, and I get to watch it happen. 

I’ve learned so much from my kids. They are the antithesis of to-do lists and worrying beyond the present moment. Their timing is now.  They want to do something now. They want to eat something now. It can be hard when it feels as though your whole purpose in life is to speedily respond to their demands. But this inherent quality in children, the focus on the here and now, keeps me fully present. I’m not regretting the past or contemplating the future, I’m just there – living, breathing, loving. 

And honestly, if I can just get them outside, sometimes they change from little heathens looking for trouble around every corner to quiet, calm, angel children. It’s a miraculous transformation. Without the noise pollution, the screens, or inside voices, they are free to be who they are in their rawest form.

When we’re outside, we tend to engage all our senses. We smell the pine trees and the damp earth. We see the vibrant greens of plant life all around us. We touch the smooth rocks and smear our hands with dirt from mossy walking sticks. We hear the birds chirping and the brook babbling. When the season is right, we can even taste the sour sweet notes of wild huckleberries along the trails of the higher mountains. 

When my kids are outside, they’re constantly improving their balance and athleticism by navigating mud pools, rocks, and rooted trails. On top of that, it’s proven that humans remember things more clearly when all of their senses are engaged. So when you get your children outside to explore, you’re also building positive family memories.  It’s a win win win. A win for the parents because we get to be outside and the kids are happy, a win for the kids because they’re having a blast and building their longterm appreciation and connectivity with the outdoors, and a win for nature because the more time we spend there the more we’ll appreciate it and become stewards of it in the future. Win win win.  

So whether you make a plan and go explore a new trail you’ve never been to or you’re just able to rally everyone out the front door for a walk, know that you’re doing a great thing. It’s always worth it no matter how big or small the adventure. And if chaos wins out and your expedition fails to launch, don’t lose heart, try again tomorrow.

You never know what small miracle might be waiting for your little crew to discover.   

 

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