Getting Outdoors with Little Tikes

The weather has been a little hard to predict in recent months, with the Beast from the East having dumped more than its fair share of snow, ice and rain, leaving me feeling like Spring would never actually arrive. We then got lured into a false sense of security, with lots of sunshine, rising mercury and warmer days galore, before some of the worst storms I have ever seen, dumping on us more rain in an hour in Birmingham than we normally get in a month! The sun has made a reappearance this weekend, but how long for is yet to be established!

I am one of those people for whom cabin fever can set in incredibly quickly if we don’t get outside for at least a little bit every single day. I love nothing more than getting outside with the girls, venturing out into the garden, blowing the cobwebs away and getting some much needed vitamin D, but at times it can feel like quite a challenge, particularly when the weather is so hard to predict.

Little Tikes recently conducted a survey of 2000 parents to learn more about our outside play habits, and the results were pretty shocking! A huge 42% of parents surveyed said that it was too cold to go outside, whereas one in four said that their little ones were too tired to leave the house.

Thanks to Psychologist Emma Kenny, Little Tikes have created some helpful hints and tips to encourage your children to play outside more, largely in the comfort of your own garden, or outside space.

Have fun with them!

Kids absolutely love to spend time with their parents. Whether you create an obstacle course in the garden up and over the slide and around the sandpit, or a simple game of hide and seek, playing together is fantastic for bonding and ensures lots of healthy activity.

In our experience this is definitely true, Erin loves it when we enter her little world of imagination. I absolutely love watching Erin’s creativity come to life, with our playhouse becoming a drive through restaurant, and her riding up in the Cozy Coupe Car to collect her order! 🙂 This is also possibly an indication we’ve been to McDonalds more times than I should like to admit but the less said about that the better!

The new Little Tikes 3 in 1 Sports Zone is also a great way that you can have fun with little ones aged 12-36 months. With three interactive elements including ten pin bowling, basketball and football, this is a great way to get children active and burning off some of that excess energy! Neve loves shooting some hoops, and responds really well to our cheers and encouragement! 🙂

Get kids growing!

Introducing children to nature is a sure fire way to spark their interest in and connection with the outdoors. Planting sunflower seeds and having a ‘whose grows tallest’ competition is a simple way to get things growing! When the seasons allow, growing your own vegetables is also a great way to get children involved, and enjoy the fruits (literally) of their own labour.

We did this with Erin last year, and this year we are hoping to add some more raised beds to our garden this Summer so we can take advantage of the space and grow some of our own fruit and vegetables. At it’s most basic level, Erin absolutely loved growing our own grass from seed on the roof of the Go Green Playhouse.

Get creative with the outdoors.

Messy play becomes a lot more fun when it doesn’t matter how messy you get. The sandpit and water table are great places to start making memories, and why not take the paints, paper and brushes outdoors and help your kids with their messy masterpieces.

Neve is a huge fan of the Fun Zone Fountain Factory Water Table, with interchangeable pipes that are ideal for inquisitive mind. This is a fun introduction to STEM subjects, helping children to learn about cause and effect of moving the pipes around, whilst having a good old splash in the process!

Go on a nature treasure trail.

Grab some bags and go out on a nature walk, or take their scooter, trike or bike, making sure you gather interesting pebbles and leaves along the way. When you get home you can make creative collages that you can keep as souvenirs.

Erin loves getting out in her 4-in-1 Sports Trike and in the Autumn we have been known to collect a basket full of crisp leaves to create autumnal crafts.

Get them den building!

You’re never too old or too young for den building. Aside from building imagination, dexterity and divergent play skills, there is nothing more exciting than having a secret den to play in. This is a great activity to play in your local park or woods, using the fallen branches and twigs to create a fairy house, wizards’ lair or other secret hide out! 🙂

Go moon watching as a family.

Playing outside doesnt have to stop when the sun goes down! From counting stars, to learning all the shapes of the moon. Getting outside at night can help relax children before bed and help with a restful sleep.

In the Summer we always try and have half an hour outside in the garden before the girls go up to bed. Erin absolutely loves looking up at the sky and making shapes out of the clouds, or watching as the stars start to appear.

Play bug detectives!

Get muddy looking under rocks and digging in the soil to see how many bugs and worms you can spot. This activity brings nature to life and helps kids feel a sense of excitement in the outside world.

If your garden doesn’t attract much in the way of creepy crawlies, head off to your local woodland or nature reserve, and create a ‘bug bingo’ style tick sheet for them to tick off along the way! 🙂

We think these tips are great, and thanks to Little Tikes, we have been enjoying playing both indoor and out. Why not try and get out with your littles ones a little more this Spring and see the world through your child’s eyes for a change. You never know, you might enjoy it just as much as them! 🙂

Lucy xx

*This is a collaborative post – this post includes Little Tikes review items, two of which were gifted in exchange for this feature, the rest of which we already owned. This post contains affiliate links*