Adventuring Kids are Confident Kids
Who doesn’t want confident kids?
What if someone told you that their confidence is right outside your door? Beleive it or not kids thrive in the outdoors and taking adventures builds your kid’s confidence that will carry over into their adult years. There are numerous studies and boring statistics that this blog post could quote to persuade you into believing that your child’s confidence lies in the great outdoors. Instead of that mind-numbing task, this post going to share with you the ways we have found works for getting your kids begging to go outside.
Adventuring Kids are Confident Kids: 7 Tips to get Your Kids Loving the Outdoors
Embrace Nature No Matter Your Surroundings
Nature is all around us. Even in the urbanest environment, nature surrounds us. “Wildlife thrives on the edges,” writes Richard Louv in his book Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life. Take your kids to explore the edge of the park where the “sidewalk ends”. Go stargazing on a clear night. You can set up a tent in the backyard or rooftop during good weather. Spending time in the outdoors doesn’t always mean conquering Everest.
Make an indoor place that is made for outdoor learning
Set up a “nature fort” in your home. Stock it with cheap binoculars or an introductory telescope. Put books in the area that are for bird identification or for stargazing. Have your children collect leafs to make rubbings and try to identify them. This place will soon become their favorite place in the house. Adventuring kids start out early, the seed just has to be planted.
Raise Hope!
How do you see the future of this world? If you watch the news or read about current events, then perhaps you see the future as a post-apocalyptic scene from The Walking Dead. How can we expect our children to see a bright future when we don’t see that ourselves? This takes practice but focus on the positive things that happen in this world, because believe it or not the world is pretty awesome. In our home seeing which animals have come off the endangered species list is a favorite.
Be Prepared
It’s the old Boy Scout days coming back to me. But the motto “Be Prepared” rings oh-so-true when taking your kids in the outdoors. Kids get hotter easier, colder easier, hungry/thirstier quicker, and bored faster than us seasoned adults. Some ways that you can “cure” these ills are: let them make their favorite snack or make a homemade trail mix. Bring along binoculars for bird or animal watching. Download this free tree identification pdf, laminate it and have them identify different trees outside (We like to make leaf rubbings as well). Having a bad experience in the outdoors can take years to overcome.
Straight Up Bride Your Kids
This in part goes with above mentioned “Be Prepared” tip. Give them their own gear, a headlamp, a pack, a compass. Let them lead the hike for a bit. Have them set up the tent. Bring along their favorite candy bar or stuffed animal if things make a turn for the worse. What a kid might say or do can completely change in 20 mins and a Milky Way bar can make a kid’s crap attitude pull a 180.
Teens are a Challenge Regardless of the Environment
Not sure how adolescents were for you? But being a teenager is awkward, hormonal, full of eye rolls and “whatever” under my breath. Why not have your teens sulkily stare at their phones in a beautiful natural setting than in their rooms at home? Have your teens bring a friend. Have them plan and cook the camping dinner. Give them the freedom to go off and explore on their own. In high school and driving age allow them to take outdoor adventures with their friends without adults. It sounds scary, but you will be amazed at given the chance how mature your teens can be.
New Challenges Boost Confidence
One of our children recently learned to tie his shoes. It was a frustrating time at first, but once he mastered the skill, his immediate question was “how do I tie knots for rock climbing?” New challenges boost confidence in both kids and adults. Plan a vacation around trying new activities or learning a new outdoor skill set. Let your child be the navigator on the next family road trip. These challenges will prepare them to face any new challenge with confidence that their adult self will thank you for.
There are no directions on how to raise kids. Each parent at times is clueless than the next. But raising well rounded confident kids is something we believe strongly in. Adventuring kids are confident kids.
Matt McArthur
Matt McArthur is the founder and head guide at Adventuresque. An adventure vacation company in the Dominican Republic. Adventuresque offers extreme vacation packages, family adventure packages, and glamping 2-night packages.
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