Go Outside

The school holidays can be a serious juggle for busy parents, which often flows onto grandparents. While I am busy with GrownUps, my own three cherubs (aged between six and 12) are busy staying with Gramma and Grampa for a few days; an arrangement which is a win for everybody. They love it when Mum and her rules drive off into the sunset. 

My parents live in an absolutely fantastic location for children, and they take pride in doing all sorts of things that many of today’s parents baulk at.

This week, my kids will be climbing really tall trees, walking on stilts, fishing (and yes baiting their own hooks and dispatching any decent-sized fish with a sharp knife). They will be bush walking, swimming, jumping off a wharf, climbing trees, not wearing shoes and generally acting like I did when I was their age.

TV will only be offered if they are utterly exhausted or if the weather really packs in. There is no X-Box and the computer is for Grampa’s work only. They will be having the time of their lives, and just about every activity will be outside and free of charge.

Like every parent, I worry about their safety when I see them high in the air, waving excitedly. However, I also recognise how good it is for them to get out and get dirty and push their boundaries. I love hearing their breathless voices when they call me at night. 

The last such call was from my very small six year old, who proudly announced that they had been on a bush walk to the far side of the harbour (travelling by car) and all the kids had decided to swim home across the harbour with their uncle. Last year, my little guy needed huge ‘encouragement’ to even go for a paddle in the same harbour. That is fantastic progress. Along the way I know they will have stopped and held on to buoys, examined barnacles and talked about how to stay safe in a channel that is busy with boats of all sizes. They can’t learn this stuff in a book or ‘virtually’ in front of a screen. 

They are making memories and developing practical skills and judgement that will last them a lifetime. Do they get hurt? Sometimes. Are they scared? Occasionally. Am I there cheering them on and sharing these adventures when I can? Absolutely. 

If you are a nervous parent, be brave. Let them go and explore. If you are an adventurous grandparent, bravo. Kids need to be outside. They need to develop judgement and learn where their boundaries are, and what happens when they exceed them. As much learning can happen in two weeks of school holidays as in a whole term at school, just in a different way!