National Walking Month: Getting Children More Active

May is National Walking Month and with the weather picking up it is the perfect time to think about getting children more active! Walking is really good for you and for your children; research has shown that just 20 minutes walking a day can have significant health benefits. Not only are there loads of benefits to walking but it is also a fun and free activity.

However, we know it can be hard to encourage kids to be active so if your kids are loathed to leave the TV screen, here’s how to encourage them to have an adventure in the Great Outdoors.

Choose Somewhere Interesting

Let’s face it, no one really enjoys being dragged up and down their local high street. Kids are never going to enjoy walking if they find it boring, so your first task is to scout out some interesting locations. If you’re lucky enough to live on the coast, beaches are filled with fun and interesting things to look at, from rock pools to sand dunes. Woodland walks, parks and other places where there’s plenty of nature to spot are also always fun.

Get this habit instilled early on and you’ll have dog-walkers for life.

Take it Easy

Make sure you pick the right time to get your kids interested in walking. For example, don’t start on a day where you have somewhere to be and you’re running late. Walks should be fun, leisurely affairs so rushing little ones along will only cause them to associate the activity with stress. Choose a day when you’ve got time to stroll leisurely.

Make Walking Fun

If simply choosing an interesting place to walk isn’t doing the trick, there are lots of other ways to make walking fun. Why not organise a long-ranging treasure hunt or an activity sheet packed with interesting facts or pictures of plants and wildlife to check off? Photography is also a really great way to make walks go quickly; give your kids a camera and ask them to snap anything interesting they see. The National Trust and other similar locations also often do treasure hunts or nature trails for kids so make sure to check out what’s going on in your area.

“I spy… Dad stuck in a tree.”

Take a Picnic

When in doubt, snack! Picnics are a great addition to any outing because they give your walk a purpose. Ask your little one to help you choose a good picnic spot and then plan your route there. They’ll have lots of delicious goodies to look forward to on the way there and the walk back will help them burn off any extra energy from too many sweets.

Try Sneak-Walking

Of course, not all children are going to relish walking around the woods, picnic or no picnic. If you’ve got some really stubborn little ones on your hands, try sneaking walking into other fun activities instead. Theme parks, museums, activity centre and tours are all exciting things to do that involve a lot of walking. Plus, unlike a stroll down the beach, all the entertainment is already laid on for you.

Aside from the various, obvious, health benefits to walking and being active in general; getting daily exercise can help improve a child’s quality of sleep. Getting children more active helps to ensure they are tired out in time for bedtime; in turn they will wake up refreshed and full of energy for the day ahead!

“If I just keep talking about space she won’t notice we’ve been walking for two hours…”