Top tips for dragging the kids out on a walk
5 ways to make walks with kids fun
No matter what their age from 1 – 21 (and above!), sometimes it can be really hard to encourage the kids away from screens and outdoors for a walk. They’ll moan, they’ll refuse, they’ll say it’s too hot, too cold, it’s BORING!!
So how can we get the children outside and enjoying themselves!? How can we make a walk fun!?
Over the years, we’ve found a few tricks that seem to work (most of the time). We have a similar guide for encouraging kids out on their bikes.
1. TAKE A BACKPACK
‘A backpack!?’ You might say dismissively….. Yes! Definitely. I take my backpack EVERYWHERE we go – even on short walks! And it’s very much like a Mary Poppins bag.
Backpack essentials:
- Water
There’s nothing worse than leaving the house without water and within 2 minutes hearing ‘mum, I’m thirsty…’ - Extra layers
For winter and summer. If they’re cold they’ll moan! The more layers packed the better prepared you are. - Space for de-layered items
What is wrong with children’s temperature control!? Clothes go off and on at an extraordinary rate.
If they take off their coats or jumpers, and have to carry them, they’ll moan. But I don’t want to carry them over my arms or round my waste, so the backpack is great for shoving in the jumpers and coats that are swiftly stripped off within 5 minutes of leaving the house. - Spare gloves
When it’s really cold and they’re playing in snow and ice, their gloves will definitely get wet and then they’ll moan. - Snacks and drinks
(more on this later) - Swimmers
In summer we take swimmers and a towel everywhere because you never know when you might stumble across the perfect wild swimming spot. - A map
Because we get lost a lot and my phone rarely has any battery. - A packed lunch
Make it a picnic walk
2. MAKE WALKING LESS BORING
There are lots of ways to make walks more interactive and interesting for the kids. Encourage their inquisitive minds with these tools;
How to make walking outdoors fun for kids
- Outdoor Adventure Guides
Our adventure guides are filled with fun and easy activities and ideas to keep the kids entertained when they’re outdoors. Different activities for autumn, spring, winter and summer. - Maps
Ask the children to plan a route on a map before leaving, and then ask them to map read. It’s great fun to navigate the footpaths on a map from your house and even see where new routes you haven’t discovered are. You can get a personalised map from the Ordnance Survey.
- Distraction is great
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard myself, slightly irritated, saying ‘come on, come on, hurry up’ to the children whilst they look in yet another puddle.
That said, those puddles and little things they’re investigating are what makes a walk fun for them! I’ve taught myself to stop, look and talk about the interesting things we may see along the way, things I otherwise would have just walked straight past without noticing. - Nature’s a giant playground
Now, we’re forever investigating animals tracks, prints, poos, badger setts etc etc or looking for imminent changes in the seasons – like signs of Spring during winter (catkins on Hazel trees, snowdrops, daffodils, and crocuses) And it’s really engaging for me and the kids! From one walk to the next, we can see how things are changing around us which makes being out so much more interesting.
Some useful tools:
*The Woodland Trust do a fantastic series of Swatch books that we used religiously on our walks last lockdown – Spring flowers to look out for, animals tracks, fungi and birds.
*We also downloaded the RSPB bird song app so that we can stop and listen to the birds we hear along the way and work out what they are… winter is a great time to spot them too as there are no leaves on the trees.
- Distance
Some days you may be able to walk really far with the kids, and others they’re just not having it so keeping expectations low can help prevent stress! If you loved long distance walks before the kids came along, then try to carve out some time to walk alone or with friends. That way you’ll be less desperate to cover some distance with the kids (this is very true for me!)
3. SNACKS & DRINKS
Now I’m not trying to encourage the eating of rubbish food but sometimes a treat is pretty good – especially when hard earned. For us, snacks on a walk are essential. My niece once said, when looking at a selection of snacks she disapproved of, ‘if there aren’t any good snacks then WHAT’S THE POINT!?!?’ She was right… we got better snacks.
Obviously, we don’t want our children eating sweets and treats all the time, and it’s all a balance with fruit and the good stuff, but a bit of snack bribery on a walk really works some magic.
Energy Boosters
We tend to have a little box of sweets in the trusty backpack that we call ‘energy boosters’ … when the kids have walked a long way, or if they have a hill ahead of them that they start to complain about.. we give them a little energy booster and suddenly their fuelled up and ready to go!
Drinks too…
The same with drinks. On a long, cold walk a thermos of hot chocolate, hot juice or hot squash serves both to warm the kids up and also acts as an exciting treat.
Snacks for grown ups are important too. I’m less tempted by a banana and a sip of water on a walk than I am by a chocolate hob nob and a thermos of coffee…..
4. MAKE IT A MINI-ADVENTURE
We once had a friend of the children over to play, and when I suggested going out for walk he said, ‘A walk!? Why would we do that…? That’s no fun!’
‘Fair enough’, I thought. The idea of just going walking isn’t too appealing to children. But when I replied that actually it wasn’t just a walk but a mission to set up a top-secret ambush, his reaction changed. ‘Cool’ he said.
Like a good rebranding act, we can jazz-up the idea of a walk and make it more appealing to the kids. For example, going out for;
- a snail racing championship…
- a baddy-catching ambush…
- building a den…
- geocaching…
- cooking in the wild….
- playing 40/40…
- making an obstacle course…
- playing football…
- building a raft..
are all infinitely more interesting than just putting one foot in front of the other.
5. MAKE A HABIT OF IT
Growing up with dogs, our kids are used to the dog walk being a daily occurrence. But for most, having a dog is definitely not the answer. Instead, if you find a way to weave a walk, or adventure, it into your daily or weekend habits then the children will get more used to the outdoor routine, and less displeased when it’s suggested.
There’s no need to walk for miles everyday, or climb mountains, or set high expectations. Sometimes, just spending a little time outdoors can lift everyone’s mood and open up the opportunity to talk and laugh away from screens and other distractions.
