Since starting our website in 2010, we have received visitors from around the globe. In fact, about 25% of our traffic is from Europe, Asia, and Australia. However, the majority of our users have one thing in common: Keeping their children happy, healthy, and safe. This is particularly true online.
With the advent of COVID-19 in March of 2020, the amount of time kids spend online has increased, due in large part to Zoom online classes and the need to interact with friends that they can’t meet in person.
Recently, A Wired Family teamed with Safe Children to provide some alternatives for kids from their day-to-day, online activity.
Tips to Get Kids Out in Nature
Up until about the mid-1990s, most parents’ default response to childhood boredom was, “Go outside and play.” Today, however, we often tend to push iPads and Switch consoles into our children’s hands to alleviate boredom. Unfortunately, while our reliance on technology won’t change anytime soon, we have swapped out sunlight for blue light, and our children’s health is suffering because of it.
A Wired Family wants families everywhere to have the tools and information they need to thrive. Keep reading to learn what healthcare professionals have dubbed “nature deficit disorder,” along with ways to cure your children of this disease of modern times.
Indoors Is a Problem
Humanity may have spent hundreds of years trying to figure out how to make the inside consistently comfortable, but being stuck under a roof isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Up until about the mid-1990s, most parents’ default response to childhood boredom was, “Go outside and play.” Today, however, we often tend to push iPads and Switch consoles into our children’s hands to alleviate boredom. Unfortunately, while our reliance on technology won’t change anytime soon, we have swapped out sunlight for blue light, and our children’s health is suffering because of it.
A Wired Family wants families everywhere to have the tools and information they need to thrive. Keep reading to learn what healthcare professionals have dubbed “nature deficit disorder,” along with ways to cure your children of this disease of modern times.
Indoors Is a Problem
Humanity may have spent hundreds of years trying to figure out how to make the inside consistently comfortable, but being stuck under a roof isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
- Learn all about nature deficit disorder and how to tell if your family has it.
- To defeat the inclination to keep your kids inside, understand why it has become a phenomenon.
- Time in nature can have quite a positive impact on your kids.
- You might be surprised to learn your home’s air quality might be more polluted than the air outdoors.
- Encourage your kids to be active with a backyard playscape.
- Put outdoor safety first with this checklist.
- Your own backyard is loaded with opportunities for observing wildlife if you know how to go about it.
- Don’t underestimate the value of giving your kiddos some outdoor chores.
- Cool off hot days with a DIY slip and slide.
- Time in green spaces appears to help urban dwellers live longer.
- Got wheels? Mountain biking is full of outdoorsy possibilities.
- Don’t overlook the option of a nature-focused family getaway.
- Look for lazy rivers for laid back, water-filled fun!
