When children aren’t studying, you’ll most likely find them glued to their iPads. This doesn’t sit well with scientists as many studies show that this behavior could affect children’s health. The challenge for parents is how to make their kids break away from tablets, cell phones, and other gadgets and go out and be more active.
While setting time limits for the use of technologies help, you need to have something more enticing to offer your kids. Here’s one good suggestion: outdoor play.
Here are some ways to reintroduce playing outdoors that will make kids excited for it.
Organize a treasure hunt.
Many kids are glued to their iPads because playing games gives them a sense of fulfillment. When they score high, they get rewarded with extra lives.
Translate this sense of accomplishment in your outdoor play via a treasure hunt. Prepare a narrative. Your kid and their friends could be pirates looking for a trove of food, with only a map to guide them. Now, there are some stops on the way to the treasure where they need to do missions like jumping on the trampoline five times or singing their pirate song.
Once they’re able to find the treasure, they can then have a mini picnic in the yard. A wide, fenced backyard is an ideal place for this type of treasure game. A picket or black, aluminum fencing ensures they stay in sight even as they run and play to their heart’s content. GreatFence.com, a specialist in home fencing, recommends a perimeter fence to keep children from running to the streets.
Let them explore nature.
Kids love apps because they’re interactive and can pique their curiosity. So, if you’re making them play outside, you want activities that are similarly interactive and interesting.
Try letting them interact with nature. Encourage them to try gardening. Let them feel in their very own hands the soil and the dirt in your backyard. Teach them how to plant seeds the right way. Ask them to water plants, so they can watch them grow.
Go back to the basics.
Remember your favorite games as a child? Did you play kick-the-can, tag, or red rover? Maybe you loved sports like basketball, table tennis, or swimming. Teach your kids the sports and games you used to play. It also a chance for you to bond and make them exercise at the same time.
Kids and screens go hand in hand now. However, you can offer a better alternative to their tablets with outdoor play. Encourage your kids to get moving in the yard!