Welcome back to the blog! This time, we’re talking about bushwalking benefits… (hint: there are lots of benefits!)
Bushwalking (or hiking) is for all ages, from little babies that can be carried, to toddlers who can walk, to children and teens that can run.
Just this week in a radio interview on NPR, author and Yale professor Stephen Kellert said that ‘children now spend 52 hours a week on electronic devices and only 40 minutes a week outside.’
52 HOURS A WEEK. That’s horrifying!
As parents who love our children, we really need to ensure that they have balance in their lives when it comes to technology. If we want them to truly thrive, we must set them boundaries with screen time and we must take them outside more often.
Nature – the magic ingredient in pretty much every situation – is a great way to counteract the negative effect of too much screen time.
What are some of the bushwalking benefits your family can look forward to?
1. It gets them out of the house and off of screens.
Many children live in captivity, cooped up between four walls.
Backyards these days are getting smaller and smaller, shrinking to a piece of grass that kids can hardly even roll on. The allure of screens is stronger than ever. This means it is becoming harder to convince kids to spend time outside – bad news!
Getting children outside gives them fresh air, space and freedom. It’s an important reminder to those children who spend a huge amount of time in an online world that our real world is incredible and worthwhile connecting to.
2. It helps children connect with wild animals.
Children gain so much from finding and observing wild animals in nature. They become completely immersed in building a relationship with another living thing. If you’ve ever seen your child form an attachment to a ladybug or caterpillar they found outside, giving it a name and talking to it like a friend, you’ve seen this in action – and it’s completely adorable and lovely to see. Forming connections with wild animals and exploring their natural habitat is a basic childhood right.
3. Bushwalking allows children to use all their senses.
Children will be able to hear, smell, see, and feel the world around them. As a result, your children will be learning and taking in the sights every second they are outside.
4. Going for a bushwalk encourages and helps children to understand their world.
When I’m bushwalking, I have time to think and ask questions about our world. Children do this too.
Understanding the world helps to place where you are in it.
5. It gets the body moving.
We all know it’s important to stay healthy. Going for a bush walk is great for your fitness. The best part is, it doesn’t even feel like exercise!
6. It gives them the opportunity to connect with nature.
You’ll never know every plant, just as you’ll never know every insect. There are just too many out there! Nature connection can only continue to grow – there is so much to see, do and learn. Seeing the wonders of nature drives us to connect with its beauty and understand its harshness.
7. It’s free.
So often we complain that we shouldn’t go anywhere because we can’t afford it, but there’s plenty of free experiences in nature that we can provide for our children.
We found a bushwalking track only 15 minutes from our house – we didn’t even realise it was there.
Find your local national park by looking online or at a local map. Most National parks are free, but you may have to pay a small fee to use some of them.
8. It grows your family bond.
Bushwalking with your family allows you to communicate with one another more easily. You have the time to talk, it’s nice and quiet in the bush, and you’re more relaxed to do so.
Going on a bush walk can bring your family together because, for that hour or so, you throw away the stress of life and just live in the moment.
9. It helps build lifelong skills.
It teaches children to stick to the path and respect the local fauna and flora. It’s also a great place to teach teenagers survival skills.
10. Helps save nature and wildlife.
I’ll leave you with a quote that truly says it all.
Are there any other bushwalking benefits I’ve missed? Feel free to reply and let me know!
What a great list! We love taking walks in nature, too – especially as a family. My youngest seems to have boundless energy and nature walks are one of the few things that help him stay focused & rest well.
Thanks so much Deb. It means a lot that you like it because you’re even ore outdoorsy than me!
I love that quote and your photos here are stunning. I couldn’t agree more – nothing better than a bush walk with the family.
Can you go bushwalking? I’d think it might be dangerous where you are. Still, seeing what you see in your backyard is probably spectacular enough. Would you ever get sick of it?
We’ve only done very short walks with the kids but I’m looking forward to doing longer walks when they are older and better at listening. It looks like you have a pretty spectacular backyard too!
Oh no, that’s not my backyard ( I wish!). It’s just a little bushwalk close to our house. Our backyard is so small ( more of a reason to get out and about with the kids). If we decide to moe, a bigger backyard that I can make into a wildlife garden is a must,
Oh no, that’s not my backyard ( I wish!). It’s just a little bushwalk close to our house. Our backyard is so small ( more of a reason to get out and about with the kids). If we decide to more, a bigger backyard that I can make into a wildlife garden is a must,
We go “bushwalking” in the reserve at the end of our road. It’s enough bush for our 2.5 year old & 4 month old to handle for now. But I can’t wait til they’re older and we can take them all over the place. 🙂
I hear ya! I was really surprised how well the Twinkles did. They just kept on walking. It was me who said that we should urn around now. I think they like bushwalking as much as their mummy!
This is a fnatastic list Penny. We are lucky enough to have a little pocket of bushland and a creek right in the middle of suburbia and we love strolling down there. There’s always something to check out – fungi on a tree trunk, mossy rocks, leaves, even a bower bird’s nest.
Exactly Ness! It must be wonderful to see a bower bird’s nest. I’ll just have to keep on searching!
Any tips on getting husbands to bush walk?! lol, the kids love going on walks, but husband of mine is not so keen sadly… and your hair is gorgeous, I hope Little Miss Q keeps her gorgeous red too 🙂
Hmm, so, he’s not active? Hubby only does it because he hates sitting around the house! So, perhaps suggest it when he’s really bored and can’t think of anything else to do. Tomorrow might be a good day if the weather lets up. SO over being indoors!
I will try that thanks 🙂 Although he rarely gets bored… I am sure I just need to find my moment, or find an exciting location! And he is active, very active, I think that is why he thinking walking is not so great in fact 🙂
Well, remind him that going bushwalking will encourage your children to be active and build their fitness. There’s no reason why you and the kiddies can’t go without him. That might just make him come with you. 😉
I couldn’t agree more Penny…what a fab list of reasons! We haven’t tried bushwalking with the twins yet as i don’t think i could handle the stress with Ruby running off at moment but we do like to walk all around our own little bushes and trees to see what we can find. i am always amazed at the things they point out that i totally missed!
I know, it’s almost like children can see thing we don’t. The twinkles pointed out the moss when we were bushwalking and I completely missed it. Had they not shown me, I probably wouldn’t have been able to make the terrarium I made the other day ( that will be posted here soon).
What a beautiful post! We call it plain hiking in my neck of the woods… but I really like the sound of “bush wacking” – so adventurous! 🙂
We love to hike with our kids, and you bring out some wonderful reminders of why it’s such a fantastic way to raise your family. You have a lovely blog!
Well written! Kids needs the freedom when walking to explore, climb trees, cart wheel and follow ant trails! We always try to stop on long drives at rest stops with walking trails and to explore all our local walks too. How good is it to pack a few snacks and spend a day where we are not constantly digging into our pockets for money…. instead we can be teaching our children to revel in nature!