I’ve often wondered why hiking has been such a great thing for our kids and families. What specific benefits have they gotten from our outdoor excursions? I did a little research and spent some time thinking about the things our kids have learned from our times outside. Here are some of the biggest advantages that your children might get from hiking.
Being Outside Can Help Kid’s Eyesight
Spending time outside seems to help children’s eyesight. Nearsightedness, which is when you can’t see very well at distances, is increasing rapidly among children. For children who already have genetic risk factors, such as nearsighted parents, spending at least 14 hours outside each week can lower their risk to the same as those of children who don’t have parents with nearsightedness. Spending more time in the sun can decrease both the onset and progression of nearsightedness. Hiking is a great way to get kids outside to help reduce the chances of poor vision!
Hiking Helps Kids Get More Fresh Air
Our parents always told us to “go outside and get some fresh air!” It turns out, they were right. Indoor environments are incredibly contaminated and polluted. The EPA says that indoor air can actually be more polluted than the worst outdoor air, even that found in large cities. Indoor air can be polluted with chemicals, off-gassing from the materials in our homes, allergens, and even small amounts of carbon monoxide. Getting outside is the best way to get a break from the pollutants in our homes, and getting outside in a natural area with fresh, clean air is even better.
Outside Play Supports Physical Development
Kids who play outside develop their balance, coordination, strength, and other physical skills. Hiking can help with this because children experience varied terrain such as rocks, roots, or stumps in the trail, steps, steep slopes, and rocks. When they are given free play while hiking children can also practice tree climbing, jumping off rocks, walking along fallen logs, and other physical movements that may not be available in backyards or playgrounds.
Hiking is Good Exercise
Many experts recommend children get at least 60 minutes of exercise a day. Hiking is a great way to get moderate to vigorous activity, as explained here by the CDC. When children are hiking, they tend to have more varied and intense activity levels than adults. Children like to run, explore, jump, and climb while they are hiking, whereas adults are more likely to limit their activity to walking. Either way, hiking is a great way to get in more exercise and movement.
Kids Can Have Free Play Time While Hiking
Kids need free play time to learn how to be creative, release their boundless energy, and express themselves. Unicef goes into detail on the need for free play here. Hiking can be a great way for kids to get free play time outside. While hiking, we usually spend a good amount of time sitting or resting, while letting the kids climb rocks, explore streams, and play together. For children who don’t have access to large backyards or other outdoor play areas, this can be especially beneficial.
Hiking Can Increase Kids’ Confidence
Hiking is a great way to build confidence in kids. While some kids are already quite confident, others may need a little boost in that area. Hiking is a great way to allow children to stretch their skills and conquer new obstacles in a stress-free, judgment-free, and generally safe environment. For many kids, the ability to choose their own level of risk and try things they are ready for is the best way to gradually increase their confidence at their own rate.
When my youngest daughter was a toddler, she was incredibly frightened of any uneven surfaces like steps or hills. She even hated to step over small obstacles like a branch across the path. We kept encouraging her and helping her when she was worried, and eventually, she learned to trust her own abilities. She was able to hike to the top of Sentinel Dome in Yosemite National Park when she was three! If you’ve ever been there, you know the end of that hike involves some serious uphill scrambling over bare rock.
Kids Who Hike Get to Practice Diligence and Endurance
Children who spend time hiking get a chance to learn about endurance and diligence, two skills that will help them in many areas of their lives. When children experience mental and physical struggles with a task and learn to push through, they experience the same sense of satisfaction and victory that we experience. Hiking is a great chance for kids to work on this. While we don’t want to choose hikes that are too hard and will discourage kids, it’s okay if they experience moments of tiredness and frustration because those are the growing moments.
Spending Time in Nature Makes Kids Better Conservationists
Kids who spent time in nature are more like to support conservation when they’re older. While we preach about climate change, preserving nature, and conservation in classrooms, people don’t change the world because they’ve been taught to. People change the world because they care about something important. If you want to encourage your children to be conservation and preservation-minded, help them learn to love the natural world. Hiking and spending time in nature is the best way to foster this love.
“The most direct route to caring for the environment as an adult is participating in ‘wild nature activities’ before the age of 11.”
The National Wildlife Federation
Hiking Gives Kids a Chance to Practice Survival Skills
Children who spend time hiking and camping can start learning survival skills. While the most basic of these skills, such as what to do when you get lost, can be taught to very young children, older children can start learning skills like fire-building and how to find or build a shelter. While these skills will likely never be needed in a survival setting, children and teens derive a lot of confidence and pride from knowing that they can take care of themselves should they need to.
Hiking Helps Kids Learn About Nature
Hiking is a good time to help children start learning about nature. Learning to recognize different rocks, plants, and animals is a part of most outdoor experiences and most young children are naturally interested in rocks, sticks, and plants. Older children can start learning to recognize different plants and animals while they’re hiking.
Hiking Helps Build Family Togetherness
Hiking as a family is a great way to bond and build a network of shared memories and experiences for the kids. Even those hikes that don’t go so well can become laughable or lovable memories later. Spending time together having adventures, facing obstacles large and small, and experiencing something new is a great way to become closer as a family. My best advice: don’t start hiking with huge expectations and you will have a better time, even on the trips when the kids (and perhaps the adults) are grumpy, tired, or having a bad day.
Conclusion
Modern children are more separated from nature than ever before, and experts have started to call this the “nature deficit disorder” and spending time in nature has been called “vitamin N”. Americans now spend 90% of their hours inside a building or car. The best way to counteract the negative effects of being inside so much is by making outdoor time intentional, planned, and doing it together with activities like hiking and camping.