What are your tips for getting your children to enjoy the great outdoors? Share your ideas on this thread to win a £100 North Face giftcard and more

[EmilyMumsnet]

As kids spend more and more time glued to a screen, they’re experiencing less and less of nature and the great outdoors. To help you enjoy the first whiffs of spring, we’re working with publishers Frances Lincoln to give away one £100 North Face e-giftcard, as well as 5 copies of their new book 100 Family Adventures.

100 Family Adventures is a brilliant resource book packed full of fun ideas for outdoor activities the whole family can enjoy. There’s tips and tricks for budding explorers, sailors and mountaineers, as well as games and adventures more suited to your local area.

To enter our competition, post your top tips for getting your kids up and out into the fresh air on the thread below. The more inventive the better! Share your ideas on this thread before 10am on 6th April 2015. 100 Family Adventures is published on 5th March 2015

This competition is now closed

Thanks to everyone for their wonderful tips and suggestions - you know you're in Great British countryside when cagoules, wellies and a thermos are must-haves!

Winner: Valski

Runners up:
Amy106, BLUEBERRYHEART, greenapples, TooManyNames, Nuttynelnew

We'll be in touch soon about sending out your prizes. In the meantime, congratulations to the winners and thanks again to everyone for contributing.

I think its important to go outside with them, kids are more likely to be happy outside if you are doing things with them rather than just sending them out into the garden

Splashing in puddles and kicking leaves is always fun and collecting nature items is great, you can then use them at home for craft projects

Geocaching is fabulous for getting us all out and about. We also have a dog who loves long walks, and DS needs little encouragement to go out on his bike or scooter. He also goes to our fantastic local Woodcraft Folk group, who do loads of outdoor activities in all weathers, from treasure hunts to beach bonfires to looking after their own allotment.

We do 'adventures' not 'walks' - bear hunts, gruffalo hunts, yeti hunts. Or just going for an adventure (just not telling htem where we are going).

I def agree with the right clothes! We are out a lot, whatever the weather. This weekend it was Parkrun on Saturday for all of us (ds(8) very proud as it was the first time he was able to run 5km continuously), then when we got back a walk into town via the park with the dogs (much splashing about in the marshy bit in wellies), followed by pottering in the garden with the chickens.
On Sunday ds and I cycled 25 miles which sometimes has a cake stop (dh did 60 miles), then a walk in the woods with the dogs. DS likes that as he can make a huge mess there.

There was a bit of a big washing pile!

Being outside is part of our daily life. Whether it's walking our youngest to get her to nap, walking to the park, going to forest school, camping in the summer etc.
I usually buy one or two new things a year for the garden to entice dd1 into the garden. I think last year was a new spade to dig in the mud and a watering can ( both cost 99p) but it provided hours of outdoor entertainment.
We have streams nearby which are great to paddle in, so we get a bucket and play in it.
We also go puddle jumping and pretend to be peppa pig.
Special food in picnics often is an incentive :)
We try to limit TV which helps.

Some of the things mine enjoy include damming streams, spotting things with an I-spy book, making boats and floating them down the river, collecting brambles and wild raspberries. Having good quality waterproofs and light weight children's bikes also helps. They love walks with a group of families especially if there is a dog to walk and a chance to make a fire. Also anything involving a boat to an island even if the boat trip is only five minutes. Failing that a bacon roll always works as a bribe.

Involvement in scouting has to be top of the list!

But also geocaching. We introduced my nephew to it at the age of 3 and he loves the idea of a treasure hunt and walks much further than he would otherwise have done.

We go camping a lot. It sounds obvious, but it gets you very close to nature for long stretches of time. We're fairly minimalist so no electricity etc, we sometimes go wild camping too in the middle of nowhere. That's been successful even with small dc.

Geocaching is top of the list for me as it's something you can do as a family.

It got my three out on walks when simply suggesting a walk would have been met with whining.

I always encourage mine to decide what we're going to do whilst out, be it leaf hunting, the sculture trail or walking round the ponds. I encourage them to take their bikes where appropriate and always take food so that we are out longer, its always a lovely day. As long as they're wrapped up on a cold day they are happy, and ca have a drink and food when needed they will go on for hours x

Cycling, National Trust and the allotment! We try to get out most weekends.

Get a dog :D The dog needs a daily walk and loves it when we all go out together. We live near a large park with a children's playground and paddling pools, so everyone's a winner.

Take a bucket to collect treasures, usually brightly coloured leaves, pebbles, sticks.

Let older children climb trees.

Make a den. Or make a den for fairies!

Rule No.1. Never ever complain about mess/ mud - muck is relative to fun.
Rule No.2. Dress appropriately - you can't enjoy yourself if you are cold, wet and miserable... Ditto the kids.
Rule No.3. Always have a back up plan. If on a trip blackberry / sloe / elderflower - berry picking to make "Mummy's special drinks" proves a bit fruitless, make some fairy houses / bird nests / mouse river rafts (or let the kids do that anyway, whilst you are busy getting essential ingredients).
Rule No.4. Make it an adventure. Even better if they get to think they are in charge. Give the 5 year old a gps and tell her to find the "treasure". She walks 3 x the normal distance to find a geocache, with out moaning "I'm tired!"
Rule No.5. Resort to bribery. Know where the nearest cafe / ice cream shop is. "Come on chaps, if we just walk up and over this mountain- I'll get you a mini milk on the other side"

We take out the bikes or scooters. Waterproofs and muddy puddles if it is raining, or feed the ducks.

For a walk we do a scavenger hunt sometimes, or allow the mention of a hot drink during the walk to be overheard.

I like the sound of the Gruffalo explorer book

I'm hoping that starting early will work! We love walking and try to get out as much as possible. At the moment our 9week old comes along in his pushchair but we'll get a backpack for him when he is a bit older. Also got two camping trips planned for the summer. Can't wait!

Dress children in appropriate clothing, so equip with suitable warm waterproof clothing for colder weather, & with sun hats/sun screen when required. Outdoor playing is not just for the summer months. Walking the dog in rural surroundings always turns into a nature study. Take the time to enjoy it as a family, listen & spot the birds, name them, see the squirrels & rabbits, feed the ducks & swans. See the wild flowers like bluebells, snowdrops, catkins, & blow dandelion clocks. We also look things up on the computer when we get back, but most importantly make it FUN!

Collecting bags - We always go on adventures and take a collecting bag with us - no matter the weather, as long as you have a collecting bag, you can gather all sorts of goodies that can be reviewed at home, offer great sessions on explaining what it is, where it came from, looking in books about the collected 'thing', then use in an arts and crafts sessions - painting, glueing
One HUGE BIG circle of fun!

Invest in waterproof trousers, wellies etc - mine love wet, muddy walks more than dry, warm ones - "let's go find some puddles to jump in then we can warm up with hot chocolates when we get home."

Search for the gruffalo in the woods.

Pick berries (that you know are safe) to use in baking.

Put out bird feeders/build bug hotels/hedgehog houses.

Ride a bike!!!

DD1 is 4 and hates walking, so I keep her moving when we go out by running around and chasing her. She loves playing catch. We hide, stomp, skip, run etc all over the place.

DS needs no encouragement to go outside and get muddy, but we find it helps to have good waterproofs and wellies plus some binoculars for him to wear around his neck - despite this, he and I spend quite a lot of time bickering over which end of the binoculars to look through!

I always found that letting them lead the way with a big stick was the best way to keep up enthusiasm during a long walk.

My 7-year-old loves climbing at the minute. We just say there is a tree / haybale / wall / football field there and off we go. I can't say it is a real challenge to take him outdoors.
If we even mention that we go to an English Heritage place where they sell Roman swords, he actually sits himself in the car ready for the journey straight away.
We spent long weekends visiting places on Hadrian's Wall and Northumberland in driving rain and gale force winds, and he never once complained.

Bikes and/or scooters are great for getting out and increasing your range.

Also the National Trust places near us are fab for getting outside, there are gardens, bird hides, climbing forts and great play areas, low ropes courses, den building... plus regular special events too.

Camping holidays are great too as you are already "out there"!

When ours were younger we would go on treasure hunts/ adventures and look for things in the woods etc.

Now they are older, a reward such as a drink and packet of crisps in the pub after usually works.