Winter Fun Outdoors

Posted by Diane Laney Fitzpatrick Nov 25, 2007

As parents, we all remember the long days of playing outside, climbing trees, making up games and building forts. Little did we know that just that type of play was important for our growth and development.

The fact that kids today spend an average of six hours per day sitting in front of some type of electronic screen has spurred The National Wildlife Federation to start a Green Hour project.

Green Hour recommends that parents give their kids at least an hour of unstructured outdoor play every day, a time for interaction with the natural world. This can take place in a garden, a backyard, the park down the street, or any place that provides safe and accessible green spaces where children can learn and play.

The NWF has a Parents' Guide to help you along.

Don't let cold winter weather keep you from providing a Green Hour for your child. Playing in the snow, if you have it where you live, is a building block for lots of childhood memories.

Bundle up, have the hot cocoa ready and waiting inside, and get outdoors with your child this winter. Build a snowman or a snow fort, collect pine cones, paint and draw in the snow, ride a sled down a hill and even dust off the old ice skates. Better yet, just let your kids loose and let them play.