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.

Geocaching is great fun.
Camping is always an adventure.
Outside games are good for all the family.
Beaches. Any beach. Child + seaside = hours of fun!
Picnics. Mine will go anywhere at anytime if there's the promise of a picnic!!

Give them a small patch of garden, some easy to grow seeds for something edible like radishes and make sure they plant them correctly. Seeing things grow that are their work gets them hooked on gardening for life.

Find close places to visit so that you go more often. There are hidden gems to be found and it's worth seeking out canal towpaths, etc.

Plant giant sunflower seeds in a circle in the garden. Encourage your kids to help water and measure their growth. When the sunflowers are tall enough (they'll grow quite quickly), bring the plants together at the top with twine to make a roof, tie back a few plants for a door and there you have it..an all natural Wendy house, pirate lair or whatever your kids' imagination can dream up.

Offer them a hot chocolate and a treat at the other end of the outdoor adventure!

As the children get older it's more difficult to motivate them to get outside. Geocaching is a good one and family bike rides.

I always find it strange that little ones will happily be out in all weathers (even when their parents don't want to be!), pottering, whereas tweens/teens almost need to be pushed out of the front door and then droop around until they actually realise that they can enjoy themselves in the great outdoors!

We are lucky enough to have seaside, woods and moors on our doorstep so as long as the kids are warm and dry with wellies and all-in -one suits in the colder months playing outside is not a problem - paddling is the favourite activity - sea or streams or puddles but we also like to build dens or nests.
They also like to search for caterpillars and slow worms on the allotment

We live in a great location near the sea with forestry, lovely parks and downland all near us.

When it's pouring with rain my DD can't wait to go outside. We put on full waterproofs and take a route that involved lots of puddles and small bridges over streams that gush in the rain. Pooh sticks are a classic for a reason and she loves that game. We also race leaves, testing different sizes.

My ds is pretty energetic so he loves wearing some energy outside. It helps we have a great park 5 mins down the road. We also take him to day trips to things like the zoo and the local forest.

It's helps that he loves any kind of animal. He is literally obsessed. So find your child's interest and use that to get them outside.

My daughter loves the outdoors so it isn't a struggle to get her out.
However, one tip I would say is make even the ordinary things an adventure. Going for a walk round the park/woods...make it an exploration trip searching for mythical creatures. Going for a walk round the block, make a game of it...hopskotch, jumping, skipping...ANYTHING!

Treasure hunts - my 6yos moan about being made to leave the house, but give them a Treasure Map and they will gleefully go round the local nature trail, with the 3yo enjoying chasing behind and counting the numbers 1 to 10. The treasure being an ice cream after.

We walk/scoot 3 miles a day on the school run and sometimes have time to chat.

Our garden is a small patch of building site but when warmer is great for water play, digging, and a playhouse.

My kids moan about getting dressed and going out, but are fine once over the threshold, so sticker charts for getting ready when asked are key for us. Spare clothes, collecting bag and some cash for emergencies are helpful - we went to a new playground once and were caught in a storm that no waterproofs could handle, so declared a State of Emergency and holed up in a cafe with hot chocolate.

In the last couple years National Trust membership has become really helpful as their gardens and woods are wonderful places for letting the kids run, especially in the middle of long car journeys.

We love to go out and look for bugs and insects, taking a magnifier and a jar to look at your finds is a great way to get out in the fresh air.

My children haven't had much say in the matter when it comes to getting up and out into the fresh air. I always check the weekend forecast so I know what the weather might be like.

I say we are getting up early and going on an adventure and that's what we do.

The kids have an 'outdoors bag' that is packed and ready with things like a ball, bug hunting kit, string, sellotape (his choice), paper and pencils - to make their own treasure hunts - and whatever else they think they might want or be prepared to carry.
My eldest has our old camera and that really motivates him to get out there.

My ds has always become upset if he got his hands or clothes muddy when playing outside so I make sure that I get stuck in too when we play outside. He's much more likely to forget he doesn't like the mid if I'm covered in it too. Our favourite places to play outside are adventure playgrounds - you are never too old to have a go on a rope swing!

Its not a walk, its an adventure!
Dress appropiatly, have warming food quickly available when you get back in winter, cold drinks / ice lollies in summer.
Interact with them - make it fun. We've gone on a priate hunt (and coincidently someone had dropped some money on the path - they was great!), dammed streams, made holes deep enough in the sand to sit and splash in, looked for insects, blown dandilion clocks, spotted birds.

And don't worry about the mud - kids clean!

I found an old wooden ladder which I have leaned against one of our apple trees. It provides hours of entertainment for our 6 years old gazing out across the village! We also keep areas of the garden where there are overgrown bushes so that dens can be made; in summer...the kids love it and even want their meals in the den!

Do things outside as a family. Plan days and weekends out and enjoy picnics, hikes, bike rides and camping. If you are having fun, your kids will! :) It's all about being a good role model.

Make it fun - e.g. fossil hunting at an old quarry (we are near one that is now a nature site and relatively safe), spotting bugs, flowers, etc.

Play a game - our favorite was 'camouflage' one of the adults would shout 'camouflage' unexpected and then count to 10, whilst everyone else had to hide.

We didn't have a dog but offered to take friends' dogs out, never failed to get the children out.

Go with another family, this changes the dynamics and means children (and adults) have different people to play with.

We recently took our two daughters up Ingleborough and had a fantastic day. It took forever to climb and one of my daughters wanted to give up but we kept saying it would be worth it when we reached the top. We promised them both a pub meal with any pudding they wanted after they had done the walk. Also repeatedly telling them that it was an experience that they would never forget helped. They showed every emotion possible going up but the elation on coming down and the achievement will stay with them forever. I've just got to work out how to talk them into the next walk!

My tip is to celebrate the seasons; looking forward to the changes in nature builds anticipation and excitement and a keenness that lasts in youngsters. We love to decorate for the seasons, for example Spring is all about colour and we have hyacinth bulbs and narcissus so we can watch them grow and see the emerging flowers. We collect leaves, conkers and twigs when we are out and about on our walks, make displays and enjoy finding things outdoors to bring back indoors and enjoy all year round. There's nothing like enjoying the seasons whilst looking forward to what the next one brings.

I try to get out every day with my two, even if only for 10 mins if it is particularly horrible.

I make sure dd (2) is dressed to suit the weather so that she doesn't get too wet/cold and we walk the dogs, go to visit the local ponies, have a walk to the park or the paper shop. She also goes out with grandparents and cousins to run around, playing with bubbles/kites.

Dd likes to wear her 'wings' (little life butterfly backpack with lead!) which encourages her out of the door! She has a medical condition which affects her mobility from time to time so we will take her in the walking backpack or her smart trike so that she doesn't miss out.

Ds is still too tiny to have a choice so he goes in the sling and goes out whether he want to or not!

We try to make weekends centred around days outside with picnics and are planning our first camping trip this year with 2 small people!

Just to add, we try to slow down and have fun. So much time is spent rushing around now that I try to let dd go at toddler pace touching trees etc and splashing in puddles etc.

Lead by example...if you enjoy spending lots of time outdoors then so will the dc. It doesn't need to be full on hill walking all the time, even time spent in the garden or a walk around the neighbourhood can be super interesting if you're a toddler

For older kids maybe have a checklist of things to find at the park or try den building in the woods. There are wee books called Eye Spy which are quite good. But the biggest attraction for my older two is climbing trees!

The best way to get our son outside is to go outside with him. He likes his screens, but if outside is on offer he is up for anything except a walk to the shops. (We live in a city flat,and he is too young, yet, to go off alone.

Geocaching is always good for my two who won't ever happily walk the dog, but can be persuaded at the prospect of finding treasure.
Cycling.
Playing football with friends.
DS2 likes to be an explorer/spy so joining in with his game and hiding behind lamp posts, running away from strangers keeps him going - even though I feel like a prize idiot!

I'm lucky in that these days they don't need much encouragement. As well as walks, beaches, woods, bike rides and gardening they seem to especially enjoy doing indoor things outside. So painting but using hands and feet on big paper or toy cars but using wood, plant pots etc as obstacles.