Not taking children out daily?

[Givemeabreak88]

Reading another thread it seems we should be taking our kids out everyday, I don’t do this, mine don’t want to go out every day, they would never want to just walk around the estate (we live in London and not a nice part!) there is a local park but they’ve been to it one million times now so no longer want to go, I haven’t taken them out for a while now (I don’t go shopping) is it bad to not take them out everyday? I can’t imagine getting dressed to just walk around a housing estate! What does everyone else do?

@AlexaShutUp

As long as they're getting exercise at home, and having time outside in the garden, I think it's fine.They do need exercise and vitamin d though.

Vit D in January in the UK 🤣🤣🤣🤣

My oldest 2 have autism they can not ride bikes or scooters / skates outside as quite frankly it would be dangerous! The 6 and 3 year old have scooters though, There’s a basket ball court but it’s normally full of teens

Whether you go out each day or not, I think you should be getting dressed (other than a coat until you leave the house) as if you plan to. I think you should also try to make things such that days of the week vary, and especially weekends different from the week.

Everyone I know with school age children goes out daily, though many have a dog to take them for a walk.

I do feel guilty on days when we don’t go out but it’s hard enough trying to get them to stop playing and do school work, let alone trying to force them outside in the cold, which they hate. I’m not worried about the amount of exercise they do as they dance and run and jump around the house all day long, getting them to sit still is impossible! When the weather is warmer it’ll be different, I know, they just don’t cope well with the cold!

I'd love to go for a walk or take DC to the park each day to get fresh air.... but realistically, with homeschooling plus both of us parents trying to work FT more often than not it gets to 6pm and we haven't had even 15mins spare in the day to get out for a walk. It's bloody hard and I do feel bad for DC.

Good god no, if your kids are happy then it’s fine.
I can’t imagine anything worse than getting more than 1 child into outdoor clothing and wellies to tramp around outside in the rain for an hour.
Mine luckily don’t bounce off walls if they don’t get daily exercise.

Angel2702 why does it take 2 of you to take your kids out?
Ours go for a 15 minute walk to the local playground for a 30 min play- and back almost every day late afternoon. At the weekend to a forest for longer walks. It keeps everyone sane and makes such a difference right now. Get out for all your sakes, seriously.

For those WFH sand able to take a lunch break- block out 3-4 in afternoon instead and take them at the end of the home-schooling day.

@Givemeabreak88

My oldest 2 have autism they can not ride bikes or scooters / skates outside as quite frankly it would be dangerous! The 6 and 3 year old have scooters though, There’s a basket ball court but it’s normally full of teens

That must be hard with the two older ones who have autism. I’m not sure what to suggest.

However, the 6 & 3 year old really would benefit both mentally & physically from going outside each day. It’s a bloody long day to keep children amused and I find some time outside breaks up the day perfectly.

I doubt many kids are taken out every day, especially in this weather.

I really do fear we are breeding a generation of children who will have little understanding of the benefits of exercise, fresh air & green spaces.

Another unfortunate, long term repercussion of these lockdowns.

@Givemeabreak88
I sympathise.
I lived in Lansdowne Drive, Hackney before it was gentrified and urban green spaces - Richmond Park aside- are much of a muchness, flat mown grass and mud.

And London’s air is far from fresh.

But even some exercise is better than none.
Currently walking in a very crowded park in the gloom of a winter’s afternoon. But birdsong makes it lovely.

We're trying to go out after lessons are done every day, even if it's only for 30 minutes to the local park. They sleep so much better for it (age 8, 6 and 2). We live in a really small part of a suburb and the local park always has a school friend or 2, the idea of seeing friends encourages them out. If it's pouring down we don't go though.
It also means I sacrifice some of my working day and have to catch up at night for longer, which is a pain, but I think it's worth it.

Vitamin D in U.K. best comes from a pharmacy 😂

We are in a similar position to the OP.
We aren't within walking distance of anywhere nice to walk and there is nothing enjoyable about walking around our housing estate.
I was putting huge pressure on myself previously to drag the kids out. They do not want to walk around the housing estate.
They do not want to cycle around the housing estate.
They do not want to scoot around the housing estate.
Neither do I.

For the past two weeks. I have stopped.
They haven't once asked about going out.
The pressure and guilt of not going out/not going out long enough/going out for an unenjoyable exp has been alleviated.

Yes I wish we loved close to a nice park or a nice beach or country roads to cycle around on. But we don't. I cannot recreate that whilst living in a suburban housing estate.

I grew up having a disabled parent, back in the 80’s. I didn’t have the endless trips to the park and walks people seem to boast nowadays they take their kids on. I grew up completely fine and it didn’t affect me or my development. Also I didn’t have vitamin d deficiencies.

I try to stick to a minimum of 2 hours outside daily that doesn't mean going for walk it can be in the garden too. By the Spring it's likely to be 6 hours.
We have always spent a lot of time outdoors playing and gardening and walking so it's part of our daily routine that's helped us keep a bit of normality in our lives.

We don’t go out every day, and we also have a garden. It is wet, not particularly enjoyable.
My DD moves a lot and is very active anyway, we do Joe Wicks, Cosmic kids yoga, we dance and she runs around all the time, so I am not worried about lack of exercise.
I also dont understand going for a walk around the block to be honest.

I try to take mine out every day, but they’re 3 and 4 and we don’t have any outside space. We were inside sometimes all week during lockdown 1, and everyone went nuts.

But, you have outside space and if it’s more stress than it’s worth to take them out, don’t, and don’t feel bad about it. At the moment it is such a pain to go out - you have to put a ton of clothing, it’s cold and rainy when you get out anyway. Don’t bother if your kids are fine without it. Maybe it will be different in a few months when there’s actual sunshine outside.

shibees I was a proper indoor kid. And that was in the 80s/90s, when kids were out 20 hours a day etc. I just didn't like going outside. It was boring and grey in winter.i had books and a zx/megadrive in the house. I don't remember going for walks with my parents ever! I hated having to walk to the bus stop in high school and stand waiting for the bus.

As an adult, I'm the only one who will go out in all weathers. Indoor children don't= indoor adults. And it's January!

Do you supplement them with vitamin d 😊

We're not going out daily. Conflicting Zoom class schedules, plus I actually have to squeeze in an hour of work mean it's really difficult to get out over lunch. Then, by the time everyones done with homeschooling/work for the day, it's pretty much dark and/ or too miserable.

We do feel better for getting out, but don't manage it every day.

I don’t enjoy it neither do the kids

There's your answer.

You don't do it because they say they want to. You do it because they need it. They need the air, the space, the running around. They are children and they need their parent to tell them what is good for them.

So yes, take them out every day, unless someone is actually ill. If it's cold and wet, take them out and then give them hot drinks and biscuits when they get back in.

I don't take mine (two 6yo) out every day either.
Even pre-covid we were not a very outdoorsy family so now that everything fun is closed, the walks in the park are getting a bit boring, so none of us (DC included is very keen).
Then add the fact that after the school learning it is 4pm and dark/cold outside... School has zooms at 9:30, 11 , 1:30 and 3, with homework after each session, so not easy to find a slot to go out before 4pm...