How much Outdoor Exposure did we give to our Children?

It happened before 7-8 months, because of pandemic we had almost stopped stepping out of our home. Since last 2 years, home and market (that too only when needed), has become our world. But after taking vaccine, the fear of virus has minimized, we got little confidence with a thought as 'We have a weapon to fight with virus now' and we started to come out of home slowly.

On one fine weekend we were roaming on a nearby hill. There I saw a salamander moving on a big rock. I showed it to my son and said, 'Look, What's this?'. He observed it for sometime and asked me 'Is it a toy mamma?'. I literally got shocked on his question. That reptile was moving his tail, looking here and there by raising his neck high, going ahead step-by-step. It was showing all the properties of living creature, but still my son is thinking as its a toy. Unable to understand logic behind it, I slowly asked him, 'why do you feel its a toy?'. He immediately answered, 'Its moving like my dinosaur toy, going ahead too.. Does it make a sound like dinosaur mamma?'. I smiled at myself and explained to him as its not a toy, its an animal, a reptile. He was so surprised to know that animal can be that small and again got busy in observing that salamander.

On listening to his reasons, I came to know my mistake. Till now he has seen these creatures only in the form of toys, so he thought it could be a toy. Yet he didn't get enough opportunity to explore outside world.  At that moment, I decided, we will regularly go outside and explore.

Kids loves to explore. And I'm feeling very happy to mention that my son enjoys outdoor activities more than me. I still remember, when a bird picked up seed from his hand for a first time, he was so joyous. He was crazily jumping and shouting out of happiness. In rest of the day he narrated the whole incident to whomever he came across.

Slowly, he started to play some games while being on trail like playing with sticks, climbing on a tree or big rock, search for a particular flower or bird, watching ducks and fishes in water, observe squirrels and rabbit. Now outdoor activities has become a part of his routine. If we didn't go outdoor for long time then he felt it and ask us about why we are not going out and says, 'Lets go to mountain'.

 Nature encourages kids to observe and take action. It awakens kids imagination power and its very important for their overall development. So my dear friends, take out some time from your busy schedule and plan outdoor visits with kids.

And yes don't have stubborn goals while on trail. Its OK even if you are not able to make it to the mountain summit or complete the trail this time. You can always give it a try next time. Important thing is to make the trip as joyous, memorable and adventurous. Sometimes bad weather and kids naughtiness test our patience, but if we plan properly and be ready with food, water, first aid kit, clothing layers, outdoor gears then we can make it as a joyous experience.