It’s something we know innately. That desire to get ‘get some fresh air’ is an ancient and familiar longing for good reason; nature makes us feel better. In fact, as science is increasingly proving, nature doesn’t just make us feel better, nature actually makes us better.
I don’t just mean that it cures us from whatever ailment we have (though it does that too-physical and mental), what is brilliant about nature is that it can help us become better people in almost every way. This is most significantly seen in children who grow in wild and wonderful ways when exposed to nature.
Children who experience nature on a regular basis get to develop:
Resilience
Physical skills including balance, agility, coordination
Independence
Creativity
Compassion
Communication skills
Better attention span.
And it keeps them away from screens and online devices (and from causing chaos by leaving toys all over my house).
So this year I have decided to do the 1000 hours outside challenge.
When I told my mum she said: “It’ll be easy for you, you spend loads of time outside.”
Which I certainly like to think is true, but I’m curious to know if it is.
I know there are days when it is all too easy to stay inside, to switch on the TV and to avoid the hassle of putting on coats. This where I need a push.
I want to switch screen time for green time- my toddler is not great when he’s watched too much TV. He becomes grumpy, belligerent and a general pain the butt- and that’s even when he’s only been watching my approved style of TV. So I want to start defaulting to fresh air rather than Balamory and I’m hoping this challenge will give me the nudge I need.
So not only will we avoid the negatives from TV we will get the benefits from being outside. Wish us luck.
I’m going to record my hours as I figure they’re the ones I can control and monitor (my toddler is at nursery and grandparents for childcare a few days a week) but for the majority of the time at least one of the boys will be with me, so that counts.
I’m also going to try and get outside every single day- even if it’s just for ten minutes.
Sure, being on maternity leave might give me an advantage- I’m not chained to a desk or required to spend my days answering emails or popping up on Teams calls- but getting out the house with a toddler and a three month old isn’t always the easiest thing.
Seriously, the admin and effort required to get everyone fed, ready and out of the house should be an Olympic sport or at least a challenge on the Crystal Maze.
And then staying out of the house can sometimes also be a big ask from everyone- (nappy changes, feeds, too hot, too cold, too hungry, too tired….) but I am taking this challenge on with positivity and enthusiasm, and you know what- so far so good.
Here’s one of the great experiences we’ve had so far that I’m hoping we will be able to recreate over the coming 12 months.
Desperation to get outside
Picture the scene: we’d got up late (I know!) had to quickly get ready and jump in the car to drive to a friends house where we had breakfast and spent the next few hours. Then we drove the 50 minutes home, by which time it was pouring down and we were all hungry. After lunch it was still raining, I had a mountain of tidying up to do and there was an hour of daylight left. My toddler didn’t want to go to the park, the beach, on his bike and I was beginning to lose energy. The prospect of getting cosy under a blanket and watching Stick Man was extremely tempting.
But I wanted to get outside and get some hours in the bank.
There was no reason why we shouldn’t be outside. Sure, it was raining but we’d bought waterproofs and wellies for exactly this reason; we had the time and the toys to play with- it was just going to take a little bit of effort to get started.
So I manhandled- in that way you sometimes have to manhandle an almost three year old- my little one into his rain gear, strapped my newborn on to my chest and forced everyone into our yard with the suggestion that we wash all the diggers.
HUGE success.
I’d gone outside willing Hugo to stay outside for at least 30 minutes, but after an hour an half we had washed the tractors, played catch, made potions, lined all the toys up and emptied all the water everywhere.
In the end I had to head in to change the littlest one and so we all headed in.
I was delighted. I felt like super mum, so proud of Hugo and myself.
It was completely worth that initial bit of effort to find my waterproof and fill buckets with water.
We played outside far longer than we would’ve watched TV and my input in Hugo’s play was completely minimal.
The whole experience reminded me to just ‘do the thing’ and I was immensely grateful to the 1000 outside challenge for giving me the push I needed. Hopefully when I find myself in the same situation (again and again no doubt) it’ll do the trick again, or perhaps the whole getting outside thing will get easier, become more natural
I’ll be posting more about my experience with the 1000 hours outside challenge because I love external accountability and I love a tangible goal. Plus there’s that innate desire to do good and be an A star student again. :-)
Days since I started the challenge: 16
Hours completed: 33 hours 45 minutes
% complete: 3.38%
I’d love to know if you’ve heard of the challenge, if you’re taking part or if you’ve any tips in the comments.
We did this last year it’s so much fun and incredibly motivating in winter I think. I loved colouring in all my little sections!