Mine are outside AT LEAST an hour a day. They normally spend 2-3 hours outside in winter (we live in the desert) and more hours in the summer, swimming etc. We have a fairly large yard, with swings, ropes, zip-line, pool, man-made creeks, sandboxes and areas to run, bike, skate in.  My older boys have pull-up bars and weight sets too. None of the eleven have ever had weight problems, of course eating well is also a huge component. No soda. No video games here, either.

Outdoor time is very important to me.  Easter baskets filled with treats have been replaced here with running shoes, butterfly nets, gardening tools, insect books, basketballs, etc.  Hearing a request for a dog for several years I finally caved in the hopes to get them outside even more.  Now with two dogs always in need of exercise, my older kids take a three mile walk each morning before school and they get the opportunity to pray the rosary together while doing it!  The snow is melted now, I think we’ll spend some time this spring learning the names of the trees around the yard.

Danielle,

Like you I live in New England and I want my children to spend as much time outdoors as possible. I’m curious about what age you start having them spend an hour a day outside. My 3 year old might be up for time outdoors in the winter on all but the coldest days; but the two year old… not so much. Is that about how it works in your house or do you have a secret for getting the younger ones outside too?

I’d like to spend more time outdoors myself even in the winter but the challenge of having a baby and a toddler meant that most of the time this winter I just shooed the three year old out while I stayed in minding the smaller children.

I am so glad spring is finally here and we can all enjoy hours outdoors every day!

My kids really love to play outside, and do as much of it as they can on any given day. Sometimes for hours a day. Even on cold winter days. Sometimes. “I” think it’s TOO cold for them to be out there. We don’t really have electronics that they spend time with, with the exception of our 12 year old, who does a lot of history/politics/government research (monitored) online, ‘for fun’. Very strong interests in those areas. That computer time is limited to an hour a day, and she does spend a lot of willing time outdoors too. The kids rarely watch any TV.  I think it’s SO important for ALL of us to spend time outdoors, for exercise, fresh air, sunshine and appreciating all the beauty of God’s Creation. That would be my motivation, to get them out there, if they needed any. (I’ll admit, I’m a big baby in the cold weather. I’m inside, by the fire, watching through the window.). So if the kids aren’t doing their school work, or busy crafting some project or another, they are out there playing, running, and shooting hoops (even in the snow). I love that they are ALL old enough now, to not have to worry about them out there as much, with the youngest being 7 years old now. 
    My in-laws asked fairly recently why our kids are ‘so thin’, in a concerning sort of way (as opposed to their cousins I am sure), and asked ‘don’t they eat?’. Which was funny, because their portions are bigger than mine, and then they have seconds. I just responded, “They aren’t thin. They are all lean muscle, and their pediatrician is thrilled with what great shape they are in. And trust me, they eat.”  I wanted to add, that “the reason, is because they don’t drink soda, rarely juice, don’t eat junk food, and don’t sit around playing video games. They are outside running around.”  That will keep anyone thin.  Hhhmmm.  I should remember that, and do more of it myself. ; )  So glad spring is just about here in New England!

When the weather is good, the kids are out a lot. However, I can’t just send them out b/c we are on a busy road. So, even though there is a fence, we don’t like to leave them out there alone. I so wish we had a place with woods and interesting outdoor stuff for them to play in. I used to spend hours walking through the woods, swinging on rope swings and sloshing through and around the pond. I wish they had the same opportunities, but we can’t afford anything like that around here.

I would like to make our back yard more interesting though with trees, gardens, natural play areas, etc.

In the winter, my son spends very little time outdoors.  In the summer, probably a couple of hours/day.  However, when he’s inside, he is not in front of any electronic device.  He watches no TV at all.  He and I do educational activities, art, and reading for much of the day, and just generally spend time together.

My 3 year old son spends at least an hour a day outside, but he’s an oldest child (my daughter is 16 months) so when he’s out there it’s either by himself or with me.  He’s also quite a dreamer (or maybe all kids are at that age?) and is not much interested in playing with balls, ect.  He is very active sometimes, but mostly he just picks up sticks and throws rocks, ect.  Which I know is very good, but I do get concerned that he’s not getting enough good hard physical activity.  He’s still a little young for organized sports, and even then, I’m not sure if he’d be interested.  So we take walks around the block, and when I do take him to the park, he plays hard (I think it’s because of all the other kids).  Anyway, I’m trying to find that balance for him.

Read a good book a few years ago (most of the way through, I think) called “Last Child in the Woods”, by Richard Louv….hit home how much the kids need to be outside.  I fall prey to the fear factor too though…so sometimes we don’t get out as much as we should…we’re not totally fenced in and near the street, so I’m always worried the younger one(s) will toddle into the street, so I have to go with them outside, so because it is hard to get me outside enough, I do poorly at getting every child out enough…but we plan on fully fencing in this spring and that will help a million with new baby on the way.  If I just step foot outside in the morning, it hits me clearly that as humans we are meant to spend part of our day outside b/c my mood lightens immediately and I find my thoughts leading straight to God!  We do go nutty if we keep in too much and yes, when I don’t get them outside they do bounce off the wall and are hard to put to bed!  So this is all true-excellent topic and so important!!!  I love seeing my kids all full of mud and exhausted…feels like they’re real kids, you know? Then you give them a nice bath and clean jammies-just the best feeling! God bless!

Right now we are really falling down in the outside play area. Our apartment complex has zero facilities or greenspace or anything like that, so to go out to play we have to walk (or take a taxi) 30-60 minutes to get to a park. Once there, my kids can do an hour or two.  However, debatable is the quality of the Beijing air.  If the air is really bad, or it is too cold, we try to get to an indoor playground.
When we still lived in Pittsburgh, we were out a lot because we were fortunate to have a yard. My sister owns a house that is not terribly far from there, and doesn’t have much of a yard at all (her house before that had zero yard; the landlord paved over it). It’s really hard for her kids to get outdoors time because of this.

We spend time outside everyday rain or shine. We live in the city so to get anywhere we have to walk. Trips to the library, grocery store, or Family Place are usually followed by a romp in the park. In the summer when it’s light outside longer we play after naptime, too, in front of our building. Here in Vancouver it’s rainy but not cold (as you may have seen recently if watched our Spring Olympics) so outdoor play is possible all year. Often, though, we seem to be the only ones in the park on rainy days which is too bad. Rainy days are great for puddles!

Well, the last few days I would say they’ve been outside 5+ hours a day.  We’ve had an unseasonably warm streak in the 50’s and 60’s.  We do have a fenced in yard, which is great for my younger ones and the younger ones in the neighborhood.  Unfortunately right now we have a half empty pool whose cover ripped to shreds under the weight of a Christmas Eve snowstorm….so I cannot let them run loose without my watchful eye.  My main problem though is the older ones.  I will allow the older kids to go on a bike ride with my oldest but other than that they tend to run out of things to do.  It is no fun riding a 24- 26” bike around our cul-de-sac (great for the little ones though) and I am just not comfortable letting them ride away, even though we live in a rather safe area.  Sometimes they are able to coerce a bunch of neighbor kids out for a game of tag or soccer or something.  What do other people do who have 10-12 year olds?  Do they just let them take off?  I loved the book Last Child in the Woods, but I am scared of society.?!  Although we haven’t had any major crimes in our city for many years, we do have a level 3 sex offender living 1 mile away, and has targeted 10-12 year old girls.  We also have a house next door that has been the home to a variety of characters over the last 4 years.  I know some people will think we are crazy for not letting them off the block…...but what do you do?  It’s tough being a parent, we do the best we can.  Sure, my word is TURN12.  Maybe that’s the answer, when they turn 12 give ‘em more freedom.

The 3-13 year olds probably average at least an hour a day if not more outside averaged over the year. Late June/July/August they aren’t out as much except early morning and after the sun goes down. It is just too hot. Think over 100 degrees and we have no pool and currently no access to one and those snap together or big inflatable ones don’t hold up, BTDT. During the spring and fall though my middles can easily spend 4-5 hours outside or more and during the winter an hour or two (they are wimpy in the cold and I don’t invest in heavy winter wear since winter is so short here). My oldest dd doesn’t get outside much at all. She is well past the ‘run around and play’ age and only likes to ride her bike a mile or two and she is done. My teen son runs and rides his bike for miles and miles. The baby would stay outside from sun up to sun down every day but an hour or so outside with mom, dad or older sibling is about as good as it gets for him. We live in a rural subdivision-one way in and one way out and everyone knows our kids. I let the little girls (9 and 10) go about a mile from home as long as they stay together. The big kids go miles and miles away on their bikes.

When we still lived in the city it was impossible to give the kids so much freedom- we didn’t have a fenced yard, I couldn’t be outside all day long watching them, and I felt it was imprudent to allow them outside, even for short times, during public school hours (we homeschool).  Now we are blessed to live on 40 acres in the country, and I can give them the freedom to play and explore nature that I believe is so important for children.  Some days when it is nasty the kids are out only long enough to get chores done and check the mail.  Most days they are out 2-3 hours per day, playing or whatever it is kids do in the woods.  On particularly nice days, I only see them at meal times and bedtime. 

Without a doubt, I think the best thing we did was to curb the amount of screen time our kids got. Even now that they’re a bit older and are aware that many of their friends see TV every day, they don’t seem to mind, and they accept screen time as a “special treat” in our home. Now, our kids will choose outdoor activities over the boob tube any day. Good reads on the subject: Last Child in the Woods or, for lots of practical ideas, The Green Hour: A Daily Dose of Nature for Happier, Healthier, Smarter Kids, which just came out this week.