Spring is here! The days are getting longer, the weather’s warming and there’s no better time to encourage your children to go outside and play.
Nowadays, however, the call of the great outdoors must compete with the lure of screens and indoor comforts. Simply telling your child ‘Go play outside!’ isn’t always enough. If you want your children to get active this springtime, you might need to think about how to encourage outdoor play.
To help inspire you, this article explores how to entice your child outdoors. We'll offer practical ideas for outside play and some suggestions for garden toys to make this spring one to remember.
Back in my day, we’d go play outside for hours with just a stick and rubber tyre!… Blah, blah, blah.
The fact is children have a lot more options for how to spend time these days. Without a gentle parental nudge, it’s too easy for children to spend days scrolling through social media and streaming platforms without ever exploring the world around them. This is why it’s so important for parents to figure out how to encourage outdoor play.
Think of the rich life experiences a child misses out on if they never get outside and play in nature. Think of the puddles to be splashed and the trees to be climbed! More than this, outdoor play has valuable benefits for a child’s development too.
When children head outside and play, they claim the great outdoors as their own personal playground. Every step earns them greater independence and fuels their natural curiosity. They learn to explore, make choices and solve challenges by themselves, building skills they will carry into everyday adventures for years to come.
Here are some of the key benefits of outdoor play in early years:
Encouraging outdoor play is all about creating moments that spark curiosity and open the door to exploration. Start by planning simple, fun activities that invite children to get outside and play. This could mean getting new games and toys to encourage outdoor play or coming up with your own DIY play ideas.
The trick of how to encourage outdoor play is to plan something that will just get them out the door. From there, a child’s natural curiosity will take hold and transform these structured activities into self-led play and discovery.
Create a checklist of things to find in your garden, local park or woodland, give your children a basket or bag and set them loose! If you want to keep it simple you can make a list of things like pinecones, feathers, smooth stones, or spotting certain birds or bugs.
To make it more challenging, you can get children to search for different types of leaves and flowers, helping them to get acquainted with local plant life. You can also get crafty and use the Flower Press Art DIY Kit to create a collage from their findings.
Transform a corner of the garden into a make-believe mud café and let your child role-play as the resident gourmand. They’ll serve up mud pies and salads of daisies and dandelions, you’ll be the happy customer.
When setting up your mud café, it doesn’t take much to spark a child’s imagination. A few old pots, wooden spoons and plastic bowls will do the trick. To take it to the next level, our Outdoor Kitchen with a pretend oven, a working sink and many utensils, has everything needed to inspire a budding young chef.
Let their imagination run wild and set up a personal art studio in the garden. They can make nature-inspired paintings and even gather twigs, stones and flowers to add texture and creativity to their work. Outdoor art not only sparks imagination but also strengthens fine motor skills and boosts sensory learning too.
You can set this activity up with nothing but paints, brushes and large pieces of cardboard or old sheets. If you want to inspire your child’s self-expression though, the Outdoor Art Easel can save your patio from turning into a scribble pad!
Pitch a real tent or create a DIY den using blankets and clothes pegs, then, weather permitting, spend the night outdoors. As the sun sets, tell stories, listen for nighttime sounds or look at the stars (or clouds!). It’s a small simple way to create a magical memory for the whole family.
You’ll need to pack the essentials, like a picnic, torches and sleeping bags. You may also want to bring something to keep the children entertained, whether that’s books a board game or cuddly toys. To add some excitement to the evening, the Pocket Swing is easy to set up and pack away and transforms any sturdy branch into a swing.
If you really want to encourage a love of nature, start them young and try gardening with toddlers. Give them a patch of soil or a few pots to grow their own flowers, herbs or vegetables. Teach them how to plant seeds, water them and watch them grow.
You can make it extra fun by decorating plant pots or using painted stones as garden markers. Furnishing your child with a shiny new Gardening Tool Set is a great way to get them excited about growing plants too.
Getting children to go play outside doesn’t have to be tricky—with a little creativity and encouragement, the outdoors can become their favourite playground. Now you have some ideas for outside play, it’s just about setting the right tone.
Here are some simple tips to keep in mind when encouraging outdoor play:
Encouraging a child to go outside and play is one of the simplest ways to nurture their imagination, independence and well-being. By creating playful ideas for outside play and giving them the freedom to explore, you’ll help foster skills that last a lifetime.
Ready to inspire more outdoor adventures? Explore our range of outdoor toys and discover everything you need to make this spring full of fresh air, laughter and magical memories.
