It’s not just kids who benefit from spending time outdoors. Spending time in nature is a great stress reliever and spiritual up lifter.  There is also a special bonding that can take place when kids and parents step out of the noisy distractions of life and head to a park, woods or even the backyard.

There are many books available at your local library filled with creative ideas for spending time outside. You will find the book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv, to be inspiring. 

So have fun outside with your kids. I have found that often you can simply follow the child’s lead.  They are fascinated by the tiny bugs they find crawling in the grass or by the way the clouds take on designs in the sky. Try pretending you are different animals in the wild and interact with each other, or see how many different kinds of birds you can count. 

Sometimes you don’t have to ‘do’ anything. Just ‘be’ in nature. Spread out a blanket outside or sit on a fallen tree and just be quiet for a few minutes. The length of time will be dictated by your child’s age and attention span. But most likely, each time you go outside you’ll be able to sit quietly for a bit longer.  This is the basis of meditating and sharing this quiet practice with children is a wonderful gift.  Besides clearing your mind, you will also be able to truly tune in to the nature around you.  You’ll be amazed at what you will discover!

Make an effort to spend some transformative time in nature this week.