Kicking the kids out of the house aka outside time.

[SarahBear]

It is summer break and I don't work in the summer. My husband doesn't work at all. Preschool is out and my daughter has a week off from her summer school readiness program. One day when my husband and I were feeling particularly low on energy and not up for the usual morning time playing with the kids, we got the idea of instituing a mandatory outside time. Our kids typically don't get enough outside time and our oldest has always been highly reliant on others to entertain her. So when energy starts bubbling up around 9:00 to 10:00ish, we now send them outside. They are 5 and 3 and we live on a 1/3 acre lot that has a large unmaintained gravel driveway, a small garden (in the american sense, not the Brittish) and several areas with woods and some grassy areas. We send them out and set the timer for an hour. I keep an eye through our large windows and keep a window open to hear them. When they open the door, I do address any needs, but keep it short and send them back out. And even though it's only an bour, they inevidebly choose on their own to go outside later in the day. I remember spending a lot of time playing out in nature when I was a kid and it seems that all that is needed to replicate that for my own kids is to kick them out and disengage, forcing them to figure things out for themselves. Do any of you do anything similar? We have only been doing this a few days.

 

[krissie328]

Oh yea! My son has been playing outside by himself for a little over a year (turned 4 today). He is very predictable in his play and I often check on him. If it's morning time I'm usually outside with him but not necessarily playing just doing yardwork or in the garden.

 

[Babybump87]

Me !
I have my back door open at all times if I am in the house . DD2 plays outside by herself while DD1 is in school the. Afterwards they both play out together until it’s bedtime ! They have been having picnics outside and snacks etc with their toys.

We have have fences garden with trees and bushes so they cannot go anywhere. They pop into the kitchen for more drinks / snacks and go back out to play !

I’m dreading the winter months not being able to let them out , it’s so good for them to have some free time to run and play .

 

[kellyc1987]

I wish I could do this!

My lo won't go in the garden on his own or stay out there & play, even if I leave the door open or do the washing up (the window above the sink looks out to the garden)

Our garden is secure and he couldn't get out so I'd like to try and implement this, any tips??

 

[LoraLoo]

My kids are out all the time. We dont have set times but on weekends, after school and school holidays they spend the majority of the time either outdoors on just playing in the garden.

 

[Twag]

My children are always outside and even at pre-school they spend majourity of their time playing outside - winter months & rain are always a nightmare as they then feel like caged animals!

 

[loeylo]

I don’t think mandatory anything is necessarily a good thing.

I spent pretty much my entire childhood outside - we lived in a safe, residential street with a lot of nice kids close in age, and we all just took off as a troupe, pets in tow. We would be gone literally all day, however none of it was “mandatory”

I mean, dd goes out to play every day. And I mean every day - none of this mollycoddling not letting her out if it’s rainy/snowy/blowing a gale. She usually spends at least 30 minutes in the garden several times a day, as well as lots of trips to the park and such.

I’m a teacher so I’m home all summer too and tbh I just want to spend time with her. Getting her out of my hair for an hour a day isn’t something I want to do - they are only little for a short period. I always remember that the days are long but the years are short.

 

[SarahBear]

I wish I could do this!

My lo won't go in the garden on his own or stay out there & play, even if I leave the door open or do the washing up (the window above the sink looks out to the garden)

Our garden is secure and he couldn't get out so I'd like to try and implement this, any tips??

We didn't do this when Violet would have ended up having to go out alone. Now Leo is old enough to be a good playmate. Implementation is simple. We explained to the kids the expectations and why we were doing it. Then we enforced it. It doesn't matter how much they complained or try to come inside. We briefly address any needs and then send them out. We sometimes list off things they could do or provide materials for ideas they have, but ultimately, it's up to them to decide how to use the time and if they will be bored or find things to do. Another thing I'd suggest is that an hour is a good length of time for a resistant kid. The first day, my kids complained and tried to come inside for 15 minutes... and by a half hour, they were just getting into an activity and by an hour, they were so into their activity that they stayed out for extra time in order to finish it up. We took a break from this since my husband and I went camping without the kids, but we will get back to it at home. They do say they hate it, but it just seems so important! My oldest in particular needs to learn how to entertain herself and interact with peers without constant adult interaction.

 

[CaptainMummy]

I wouldn't force them to stay outside for an hour. My girls are in and out whenever they please, but I think it's cruel to stop them at the door and not allow them in if they want in, for the sole reason you think it's good for them.
You say you did it because you and your husband didn't feel up for playing in the morning, maybe the kids didn't feel up for spending an hour outside. You never forced yourself to play with the kids so it seems like you forced them outside to get them out of your face, which I believe is wrong, as much as they do drive us crazy sometimes!

Ps it is our summer holidays too, but I definitely couldn't shut my girls outside. I make the effort to take them out, or put up with them being hyper, even if I don't feel 'up for it' because that's a sacrifice parents have to make.

 

[CRWx]

I wouldn’t force them to stay outside either, my DD is in the garden multiple times a day (I leave the doors open) when we are at home. When she’s had enough, she comes inside and plays in the house. I wouldn’t stop her at the door and make her stay outside because she simply might not want to and that to me is absolutely fine. Stopping her from coming in would feel cruel.

I can’t imagine ‘enforcing’ that my DD MUST do anything regarding play- staying outside even if she didn’t want to would take the fun out of it and I’d feel horrible. If she wants to play somewhere, great! I’m not going to force her though, seems very regimented, strict and honestly not a nice way to treat them!

 

[jessmke]

My concern with forcing the outside time is that they might start to see it as a punishment rather than fun play time. My kids are outside pretty much all day long, they have free access to the deck that wraps around the entire house, but don't go down into the yard unless we are with them (we live in the country and have lots of cougars/bears/foxes/wolves/coyotes/etc). Half the deck is covered so even when it's raining they are out there playing and we sometimes turn the propane heaters on if it's really cold. They usually play on the deck by themselves in the morning while we clean up the kitchen after breakfast and do other chores in the house, and then we go out into the yard with them in the afternoon after their naps, but honestly we don't really play with them all that much. They entertain each other and we are more just supervising unless they include us in their games (which isn't often!). On the odd occasion when DD is playing inside and the weather is beautiful we will suggest that she go outside and suggest games or something and then she'll usually go out, but if she doesn't we wouldn't force her to go outside.

What about going out and having your morning coffee in the yard or eating lunch outside or something so the whole family is outside? You can still encourage them to come up with their own games, but it might feel less like they are being forced if the whole family is out there.

What about encouraging them to take their toys outside, so whatever they would be playing with inside they just take it outside to play with it? We have a little kid sized picnic table where my DD looks at books and colours if that's what she's in the mood for. It's maybe not the imaginative/nature play you are looking for, but at least they are outside.

 

[RainbowDrop_x]

I’m very lucky in the sense that I’ve always had a secure garden for my kids to play in and they do, but at their own free will.

My doors are open all day for them to wander as they please. It gets shut half an hour or so before bedtime so they know it’s wind down time (plus their both not scared to get their hands dirty and being outside after having their evening bath would just result in needing another bath ) but I’d never force them to be out if they didn’t want to be.

As an adult I wouldn’t want to be forced into a situation I’m not happy with for the sake of someone else’s benefit so they come in and out as they please.

 

[sweetcheeks78]

We have a big garden too, an enclosed 1 acre with lots of paths and trees. My kids play outside a lot but I don't force them. I suggest it, if they're getting under my feet I might say 'right, go out on your bikes until dinner's ready' and they'll happily race off and get their bikes out. I totally agree that outside time is hugely beneficial, and we encourage ours to be outside as much as possible. I don't really like the idea of forcing them out though, if they're not keen to go outside then I'll go too and make a game - start them off playing hide and seek or something. Mine also love going looking for something (we have a national butterfly count going on in the UK so they go out and look for butterflies at the moment).

 

[sweetcheeks78]

My concern with forcing the outside time is that they might start to see it as a punishment rather than fun play time. My kids are outside pretty much all day long, they have free access to the deck that wraps around the entire house, but don't go down into the yard unless we are with them (we live in the country and have lots of cougars/bears/foxes/wolves/coyotes/etc). Half the deck is covered so even when it's raining they are out there playing and we sometimes turn the propane heaters on if it's really cold. They usually play on the deck by themselves in the morning while we clean up the kitchen after breakfast and do other chores in the house, and then we go out into the yard with them in the afternoon after their naps, but honestly we don't really play with them all that much. They entertain each other and we are more just supervising unless they include us in their games (which isn't often!). On the odd occasion when DD is playing inside and the weather is beautiful we will suggest that she go outside and suggest games or something and then she'll usually go out, but if she doesn't we wouldn't force her to go outside.

What about going out and having your morning coffee in the yard or eating lunch outside or something so the whole family is outside? You can still encourage them to come up with their own games, but it might feel less like they are being forced if the whole family is out there.

What about encouraging them to take their toys outside, so whatever they would be playing with inside they just take it outside to play with it? We have a little kid sized picnic table where my DD looks at books and colours if that's what she's in the mood for. It's maybe not the imaginative/nature play you are looking for, but at least they are outside.

Great suggestions here!