Parenting Today
There’s no better way to foster a love for the planet and spend quality time with your kids than going hiking. Plus, hitting the trails together is a fantastic way to get some fresh air, enjoy the great outdoors, and get some exercise.
Managing your child’s temperament can be tricky, though, for any activity. So, how do you keep your young explorers from getting bored, tired, and cranky and help them stay interested and engaged? Follow these tips and tricks to ensure they have fun on the trail.
Start with Easy, Local, Kid-Friendly Trails
Beginners ease their way into all sorts of sports — and this certainly holds true for hiking. You should start your kids off with easy trails and let them work their way up to more strenuous hikes. This could mean visiting a local farm, city park, or nature preserve.
Getting them used to navigating small outdoor settings helps them gain experience and an early appreciation for natural areas. Choosing spots with notable features like a creek or waterfall adds a scenic goal to the outing. If you’re venturing farther from home, check out the Best Kid-Friendly Trails in the United States at AllTrails.com.
Do a Nature-Themed Scavenger Hunt
Doing a nature-themed scavenger hunt on a hike is entertaining and educational. Make a list of items for your kids to find before you head out. Then, give them the list at the start of the trail. Include things like a red leaf, an acorn, a twig, or a colored pebble. As they discover each item, they can cross it off the list.
If you teach them to practice the Leave No Trace principles that minimize disruption in a natural environment, they don’t have to collect the items but simply point them out to you as they discover them. For younger kids, you can draw pictures of each item next to its name. Whoever completes their list first, wins.
Play ‘I Spy’
This time-tested kids’ game easily engages children as they make their way through a trail. Focus on an item and give verbal clues until someone guesses what you are looking at, then rotate turns. For instance, if you see a squirrel in a tree, you might say, “I spy something with a bushy brown tail.”
You can also play the alphabet game and take turns calling out natural items that they see that begin with each letter, repeating the previous items in the list.
These games are fun and help kids notice big and small natural details around them.
Set Off on an Expedition and Record Observations
Before hiking, tell your children about famous explorers Lewis and Clark, who made the first systemic reports of the measurements, course, flora, fauna, tributaries, and inhabitants surrounding the Missouri River. You can show them pictures online or in library books of the drawings and notes they recorded.
On the day of your hike, tell your kids to set off on their own expedition. Give them each a notebook, colored pencils, a compass, a ruler, and a magnifying glass. As they explore the trail, have them record their observations in their notebooks. What signs of wildlife did they see? What sounds did they hear? Did they smell any natural scents like wildflowers, mud, or earthworms? Allow enough time for them to write or sketch what they discover.
Go Geocaching
Geocaching is another fun way for kids to explore the outdoors. As REI explains, geocaching “is a high-tech treasure hunt” in which you use a smartphone app to locate hidden caches in a neighborhood or out on the trails.
Participants hide these containers so they blend in with their surroundings. They hold a logbook to sign and assorted items for trading.
The website Geocaching.com lists millions of active geocaches around the world. Some may require a long or difficult hike, while others are easy to find. So, check the difficulty level to ensure it suits your child’s age and skills.
Give Your Kids Options and Let Them Choose
Kids can stay engaged during a hike by making choices throughout their adventure. For instance, if a trail splits in multiple directions, let your child choose which path to follow. You can also let them pick a spot to have lunch or have them decide what kind of snacks to bring, which trail markers to hit, and more.
Discuss Ways to Protect Nature and the Environment
Hiking presents a perfect opportunity to discuss how beautiful and unique trees, plants, flowers, insects, and animals are and why humans need to protect the planet. Talk about conserving water, saving energy, recycling, preventing wildfires, stopping deforestation, and curbing pollution.
Be sure to compliment them for things they already do at home to help — like turning off the water while they brush their teeth and asking them if they can think of more eco-friendly actions they can take.
Following these tips can help keep your kids engaged during a hike, and spending time together on the trails will create lasting memories and nurture your kids’ love of nature that can last a lifetime.
