WILD CHILD LESSON: Motivation to Go Outside for 15 Minutes

It is hard to find time to get children outside amid after school activities, making dinner, and just being tired. I often find myself asking is it really worth the effort to put on all the outdoor coats, pants, and boots for a meager fifteen minutes before dinner or bedtime.  But after we venture outside, I have never regretted the choice.

I consider this Newton’s First Law for my parenting:  An object (me) at rest will stay at rest (and probably feel tired and maybe a little grumpy) until acted on by an outside force.  So I have learned to embrace the fifteen-minute adventures, because often it doesn’t take as long as I expected to get everyone dressed – the speed of motivated children amazes me – and we invariably have fun. Whether we simply play tag, poke sticks into the garden dirt, or toss a ball, the fifteen minutes flies by.

If we play before catching the bus to school, before dinner time, and before getting ready for bed, we have already spent an extra 45 minutes outside instead of bouncing off the walls inside.

Written by Tandy Morton, Wild Child Playgroup Facilitator