Best Outdoor Activities for Babies and Toddlers – With increased urban sprawl and diminished open spaces, we’re beginning to appreciate the value of parks, green spaces, and contact with nature more than ever. Not surprisingly, parents want their kids to experience the joys of nature and reap all of its benefits. These benefits are not insignificant as there is strong evidence showing that outdoor play and contact with the natural world are important for young children’s healthy growth, physically, mentally, and socially.
Best Outdoor Activities for Babies and Toddlers
The sooner you get started, the better, but you’ll need to take a few precautions to keep your baby safe. Make sure that outdoor playtime is in short intervals to begin with, avoid direct sun exposure for more than a few minutes, always use a baby-safe sunscreen, keep your baby well-hydrated, dress your child in protective wear suitable for conditions in your area, and don’t forget your selfie stick or camera as there will be plenty of memorable moments you want to capture!
Deciding on specific activities for babies and toddlers to enjoy outdoors may seem daunting, but you really can’t go wrong. At this age, they will enjoy absolutely anything, so long as they have you around. That said, there are some activities that experts highly recommend and they can help you get started.
7 Outdoor Activities for Babies and Toddlers
- Tummy Time on a Picnic Blanket or Grass
Tummy time sessions are great for your baby and there’s no better place to enjoy them than outdoors. There’s plenty for your baby to be curious about and you can be sure that he or she will be looking around, if not trying to crawl. You can also lay out items from the surroundings next to your baby to interact with, such as pinecones, stones, twigs, seeds, and so on. Just carry a pacifier along if you’re allowing your baby to crawl about the grass as babies tend to pop anything they find into their mouths!
- Play with a Ball
Whether it’s throwball, catch, or football, any activity with a ball will keep your baby engaged. Playing with balls offers a variety of developmental benefits for babies and toddlers, improving hand-eye coordination and motor skills. Rolling a ball back and forth is also an easy way to bond with a baby and it can teach toddlers the basics of social and collaborative play.
- Play in the Dirt or Mud
This is another form of sensory play that’s great for toddlers and young children as it allows them to interact closely with the natural world, engaging all of their senses. Although it may seem unhygienic or unsafe, studies show that close contact with soil exposes children to harmless microbes at an early age and helps build immunity that will protect them for life. To make the activity more fun, you can also give your little one small shovels and buckets to dig about.
- Outdoor Scavenger Hunts
Scavenger hunts are exciting whether you are 3 years old or 30. They are a great way to encourage toddlers to spend time outdoors, engaging in physical activity. This can also be a group activity to inculcate social skills and promote teamwork. Just make sure to include some easy-to-find items in your scavenger hunt list, along with a few that are challenging so that there is adequate stimulation and motivation.
- Plant Seeds
It’s never too early to introduce children to gardening. It’s a productive and fun activity that is highly engaging and inculcates more than patience. It helps develop learning as they can understand the complete life cycle of plants, and it also gives them knowledge that will help them live more sustainably with greater self-sufficiency.
- Look for Bugs, Shells or Leaves
Interacting with objects is the best way for babies and toddlers to learn about the natural world, so depending on your comfort and their age, you can encourage them to find and study different things outdoors, from bugs and shells to leaves and stones. To make this activity more engaging you can give your child magnifying glasses and picture books to help them on their quest.
- Build a Fort or Sandcastle
It’s an activity that you probably enjoyed yourself as a child and it’s one of the most fun activities for toddlers and children of any age. This is something that you can also enjoy together. The activity is incredibly stimulating for children’s creativity, involving both role-playing and cooperation with others. Ultimately, this will help develop a variety of skills including problem-solving, critical learning, self-regulation, and creative expression.
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