Getting Kids Outside: Simple Practical Steps Every Parent Can Start Today

We've covered a lot of ground this month.
Ecopsychology and the human need for nature. The power of unstructured outdoor play. The connection between outdoor activity and physical health. The tension between shrinking natural spaces and the growing digital world.
All of it points in the same direction.
Kids need nature. Regularly. Freely.
But knowing that and actually making it happen are two different things. So this final week of our September series — inspired by Flint's book study on "Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Louv — I want to keep it simple and practical.
No more research. No more concepts. Just — what can you actually do?
(The full video of our conversation with Flint is coming very soon — subscribe so you don't miss it: livestouchedcoaching.podia.com)

Start With One Thing
The biggest mistake parents make when they want to change a habit is trying to change everything at once.
You don't have to overhaul your family's relationship with nature and technology in a week. You don't have to find a wilderness area or plan elaborate outdoor adventures or eliminate screens entirely.
You just have to start somewhere. Pick one thing. Do it consistently. And let it grow from there.
Here are five places to start — pick the one that feels most doable for your family right now.

1. Go Outside Yourself
This is the most powerful thing on this list and the one parents most often overlook.
Kids watch what we do far more than they listen to what we say. A parent who chooses to go outside — who takes evening walks, drinks their morning coffee on the porch, sits in the garden, chooses the park over the couch — normalizes outdoor time in a way that no amount of telling ever will.
You don't have to make it about them. Just go outside yourself. Regularly. Let them see it. Let them join you when they want to.
You are the most powerful influence on your child's habits. Use it.

2. Make Outside the Default Answer to Boredom
This one is simple and incredibly effective — and it costs nothing.
When a child says "I'm bored" or "there's nothing to do" — the answer is outside. 
Not a screen. Not a structured activity. Not your problem to solve.
Just outside with whatever space and materials are available.
This single consistent habit — applied over time — does more for a child's relationship with nature and their own creativity than almost anything else you could do.
It might feel uncomfortable at first — for them AND for you. Stick with it anyway.

3. Find Your Family's Natural Spot
You don't need wilderness. You need consistency.
A local park you visit every week. A trail you walk on Sunday mornings. A backyard you use. A creek nearby that the kids know they can explore.
The goal isn't occasional grand outdoor adventures but regular small doses of natural outdoor time in familiar spaces.
Find your spots. Return to them often. Let them become part of your family's rhythm.

4. Set One Technology Limit — Framed as Protection
Pick one window in the day where screens are not an option and outside is.
After school before dinner. Saturday mornings. The hour before bed.
One window. Consistent. Framed not as punishment but as protection — "this is our outside time because our family needs it."
Kids whose parents set consistent technology boundaries spend significantly more time outside. The research on this is clear and the implementation is simpler than most parents expect.
Start with one window. See what happens.

5. Let It Be Unstructured
This might be the hardest one for parents who are used to planning and directing.
When your kids are outside — let them be. No agenda. No activity organized. No guidance on what to do or how to do it.
Just outside. Just free. Just together if siblings or friends are involved.
The research is clear that unstructured outdoor time is where the deepest developmental benefits happen — the creativity, the problem solving, the social skills, the resilience.
All of that grows in the unplanned moments. Trust the process. Step back. Let them figure it out.

​A Final Word
You don't have to be a perfect outdoor parent. You don't have to love hiking or camping or nature in any particular way.
You just have to be willing to open the door — literally and figuratively — and give your kids a little more of what their developing brains and bodies are wired for.
Consistent small doses. That's the whole thing. 💚

A Thank You to Flint
This series wouldn't exist without my son Flint — a college student studying human development and family studies who is also completing The Ripple Effect Parent and Family Coach Certification — choosing this book for his book study and then sitting down with me to talk through what he learned.
Watching him grow into someone who thinks deeply about families, children and human development is one of the greatest joys of my life.
The full video of our conversation is coming very soon. Subscribe to the newsletter so you don't miss it — and share this series with a parent who needs it. 💚

This is the final post in a five-week September series inspired by "Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Louv. Subscribe to the free newsletter at
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