I have always been a believer of getting out and about whenever possible, especially with children.
When I was growing up, my family often went for a countryside walk at the weekends.
My sisters and I were all horse mad so when we went for a walk we would find a stick each and then pretend we were riding a horse; and ran along smacking our bottoms with the sticks (to onlookers this must have looked very odd) but it kept us happy and entertained, later when we used a bridge to cross the river we played Pooh sticks with our sticks.
When my eldest son started to wear ‘proper’ shoes he didn’t like putting them on ( I presume that they felt strange on his feet) he would get cross when I tried to put them on, he soon learnt that putting shoes on meant we were going out and it wasn’t long before he would fetch them when I asked if he wanted to go for a walk.
When working as a child minder I regularly took the children out on walks. I expected the walkers to hold onto the buggy I was pushing, then if they walked nicely when we got to the footpath I let them run ahead a little way.
When the weather was chilly they were dressed warmly, the problem was when they ran and got warm they started to peel off the hats and scarves and sometimes the coats too, this meant that I had to balance the clothes on the buggy until they cooled down and put them back on.
When I became disabled after stroke and had my 3 year old grandson to stay he liked to race me through the park, he ran along and I would go along side him on my electric scooter, then as a reward for winning he would sit on my lap and take control of the scooter which we both enjoyed.
I remember a particular child that I used to look after who wasn’t a keen walker and asked one day why we were walking to a toddler group when the car was parked outside my house; it was a beautiful day and it would have been a shame to drive, to jolly her along the way we sang made up songs to sing as we skipped along the pavement holding hands, we also played a game- who thinks the squirrel will be on a garden fence ( we often saw squirrels on a particular garden fence during our journey; if I said that I thought we would see a squirrel, she said she didn’t think we would and visa versa.
Sometimes I would walk with another child minder and her children, all the children liked to take turns to press the button on the pelican crossings and also enjoyed walking along a low wall while holding our hands.
One boy when I asked him to get out of his buggy and walk up a small incline told me that he wasn’t allowed because he had a bad knee, later when I asked his mother about this, she told me there was nothing wrong with it- he was just not a fan of walking although she felt that he was capable and would benefit from it. His dad even pretended that their buggy was broken in an attempt to get him to walk, he told his dad, ” That’s O.k. you can fix it before we go!”
Taking children for walks is a great form of exercise for them and us, take care near roads. I have written an earlier post on road safety.
Please share any experiences of going on walks with children
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Until next time.
Karen
x
When out on our family walks at the weekend all the girls kept saying that walking would be so much nicer if we had a dog. Eventually we got a yellow Labrador and they were right our walks with our lovely dog were amazing. You see so much more when walking and meet lots of people that you wouldn’t do in a car. A great blog Karen
family weekend walks are a great adventure to be had
I absolutely agree with you – it’s so important to get children outside and get them moving! We used to take our 3 for walks in the woods when they were little. You would have thought we forced them to go on death marches! They always complained about going, but now, they have an appreciation for nature and they remember our walks in the woods fondly.
I love going on walks with my kids – for the fresh air, for the bonding, for the exercise and for doing something that doesn’t involve screens x #MixitUp
Popping back over from #DreamTeam
This is something that I started as soon as mine was able to walk. Its free, healthy, and a great way to bond. I hope its something we continue for a long time
I love walking with our boys. It gets them talking every time and we often talk about all different kinds of topics. It’s great. 🙂
#BloggerClubUK
It’s the simple things that brings families together what’s better than a nice walk especially with warmer weather very happy I saw your link at fortheloveto #Alittlebitofeverything
It’s so important to get outdoors with the children. It doesn’t have to be a grand adventure, a simple walk through the woods, to the park or whatever
We love going for walks and I’m quite fortunate that both my boys are quite keen walkers. I think that’s probably because we are blessed with lovely places to walk. Just down the road we have a lake with ducks, geese and swans which the boys love to visit.
Even with teens there are benefits – you have conversations you wouldn’t otherwise. Even if you’re just chasing pokemon around the neighbourhood. #Stayclassymama
I love to walk, I just wish my step daughters and son would get more involved. I’m working on it though.
Thank you for sharing x
I love to walk, shame my children are not so keen but I’m working on it.
Great post x
Ahh, I too have happy memories of using a stick as my crop while riding my imaginary horse! #kidsandkreativity
What a lovely memory of going out for walks in the countryside as a child. I agree, there’s something quite exhilarating about getting out and about in the fresh air. It clears your head and leaves you energised. And doesn’t fresh air and walks do wonders for their imaginations too. Thanks for joining us for the #dreamteam.
Lovely post, my fondest memories are when we traveled to Tasmania and we went on some amazing family walks there, once we got completely lost and the walk took us so much longer than planned and even though our children were little, especially our son, they didn’t complain. We made it a real adventure and chatted and looked for different birds. We ended up collecting a lot of leaves which we later chose our favourites and framed them, they sit on the wall as soon as you walk in our home it is the first thing you see. Lovely post! Thanks so much for sharing this post with us for #ABloggingGoodTime
I used to love walking with my daycare, it was such a nice way to change up the environment and have some fun. #GlobalBlogging
Walking is our favourite activity, there’s so much to see, puddles to jump in, sticks to collect and all while getting fresh air and gentle exercise #kidsandkreativity
I am not a huge fan of the big outdoors but if the weather is noice I can be tempted out for a walk by the river which is right by our house. My kids love being outside and exploring the world. Thanks for linking up with #stayclassymama
Ah we love going on walks, my children though call it going on an adventure! We make it fun by introducing bug hunts, pretending to be explorers etc Thanks for linking up to #KidsandKreativity, hope to see you back next time x
We love getting out and exploring, but preferably away from any traffic as our boy is easily distracted and doesn’t have much danger awareness x #KidsandKreativity
We walk everyday and I make a point of it as it’s so good for all of us. People often comment on how far my 2 year old walks – she’ll happily walk a mile from our house & back again which is quite a lot for little legs! #ablogginggoodtime
I love walking with my little girl and we try to do more and more challenging walks as she gets older. We still get the odd moan but she loves being in the countryside and comments on how beautiful things are which melts my heart. #adventurecalling
I think you’re right – if you’re used to going for walks, being outside it is something that stays with you and that people may draw strength from in later life. Oh i love you and your grandson racing on the scooter! #adventurecalling
Totally agree with you. It’s great getting kids out walking. I love hillwalking and it is fab sharing this passion with my little boy (often aided by jelly babies) and he now loves going for our adventures.
#AdventureCalling
Walking is our favourite family activity! Fresh air, exercise and completely free…what more could you want? #adventurecalling
Walking is so good for the soul, as our the horse sticks of your childhood. I love the simplicity of children’s play when they’re allowed to be themselves. #adventurecalling
Unsuprisingly I love getting out on walks with the kids, although it sometimes takes a bit of gentle persuasion. Once we’re out they always have fun. I love your stories about the different characters that you’ve looked after! Thanks for sharing and the next #AdventureCalling will be open tomorrow morning.
Thanks Lauren, I enjoy sharing my happy memories x