How do you encourage your children to play outside? Tell Persil for a chance to win a £300 voucher! NOW CLOSED

[PoppyMumsnet]

A new global study of 12,000 parents reveals children are spending on average less than an hour outdoors per day - and in the UK specifically 1 in 5 children never play outdoors.

In response to this, Persil is launching the Dirt is Good campaign, encouraging children to spend more time playing outdoors.

Here’s what Persil has to say: “We believe that children need plenty of outdoor play because climbing trees, building dens and just being in nature are essential for their learning and healthy development. That’s why we say that #dirtisgood. However, parents have told us that it’s getting more difficult to find time and places for their kids to play. So, in partnership with parents, educators, and other leading child development experts, we want to investigate ways to help children play and explore more so that they can learn and develop to their full potential.”

Persil wants to hear your top tips for encouraging your children to get out and play. Do you feel they have fewer opportunities to play than you did? What are the main obstacles to outside play and how do you overcome them? What, if anything, would you like to help you facilitate outdoor play for your children?

Everyone who adds a comment to this thread will be entered in to a prize draw where one winner will receive a £200 Love2shop voucher.

Thanks & good luck!

MNHQ

Standard T&Cs apply

Buy a couple of bits of play equipment (slide, swings etc) to use as an incentive to go outside to play.

I find my DCs will go out with a view to going on the swing, then get distracted by something once outside and have to be dragged in, hours later

My DS definitely needs encouraging to go outside but waterproof trousers, wellies and a "wet weather stomp" through the back lanes helps, as well as a trampoline, races in the garden and friends over to play.

We have swings, slide and water play in the garden. I also give them magnifying glasses to go on a bug hunt.
We'll go for lots of walks and take snacks and hot chocolate in the winter, juice in the summer.
When the weather gets better, we take bikes, kites, balls and tennis rackets to the park.

I think it helps if the parents enjoy being outside too as that rubs off on the kids.

My two year old needs no encouragement whatever the weather. She likes to jump in puddles, collect leaves, conkers, feathers etc, help in the garden, wave at passing buses and lorries etc it's harder to keep her in!
Giving her things to collect to make a picture with later always goes down well. Our house is full of leaf pictures and shell pictures and she's now started a feather collection.

I feel like we spend every day at the park! When the weather is nice I like opening the back door and let the little ones play outside while I do things in the kitchen. Parents have a role to play too - encourage adventures and muddy walks, clothes can easily be washed (with Persil of course )

It is difficult, i cant just open the front door and let mine out as we're at the junction of two busy A roads. fortunately we have a garden so it has been possible to engage ds by getting a bird feeder and some binoculars!

Having plenty of things for them to play with in the garden -sand pit, balls, hoola hoops. Mine love on a nice sunny day (not that often sadly up here in north Scotland) to have a picnic lunch and play in the pop up tents outside in the garden.

Mine love going to different play parks for a change or a walk along a beach or river so we try and visit different places to make it more interesting.

Our local forestry commision do forest rangers talks and mini beast hunts for children and they love it. Just wish we had slightly better weather -most of the time we are out we are in our wellies!

My girls go out the back garden a lot as its enclosed, I just open the doors and they potter in and out. They like being out the front but they need me there too as there are roads close.
The best way I find to facilitate outdoor play for mine, is by taking them to places like national trust houses or parks or by having things they enjoy playing with in the garden.

Currently mine are limited because the lack of fencing means a high level of supervision is required. They love playing outdoors though. We have good warm waterproofs and wellies so that they can stay warm and dry whatever the weather which helps I think.

Go outside with them, even if you are putting washing out or something

My son age 9 loves to go to the park whatever the weather even in the rain! he loves to ride his scooter go on the climbing wall and zipwire and race up and down on the scooter ramps. i just have to stand in the rain encouraging him. He also likes to climb trees but sometimes goes up a bit high and i have to get him down. I think its important to play outside and get dirty its part of being a kid.

Keep the door open and let the cats into the garden, it always encourages us all to pop out even for a short time.

My son loves the outdoors.. At nursery he is always in the garden or forest playing in the mud and sand and at home he loves watering the garden with the hose... He would be out there all the time if we let him. Peppa pig also introduced jumping in muddy puddles which he adores!

When my boys were little we used to play a game called 'secret raisins'. This involved hiding a small box of raisins around the garden, whoever found it would get to eat a raisin and then hide it again. It used to keep them entertained for hours!

We're making our garden a playground for the children - currently creating our mud kitchen. Already have a 'rock fairy garden' the kids made and toy car tracks through the plants.
Kids always up for a trip to the park as well, or a seaside or nature adventure in the woods - try to get involved in their imaginary games outside, more fun for them than just walking.

Setting challenges works for my girls - last summer we attempted to complete the National Trust 50 things before you are 11 and 3/4s which was fantastic. Some things we did ourselves and other we went to National Trust events. I now make my own list of challenges every school holiday

Any excuse and ours are out bouncing on the trampoline. Balls & bubble mixture are also good incentives to get outside!

My kids generally spend less time outside than I did at their age. I think there are so many things competing for their time, chiefly games consoles and TV. I was a 70s child so, as well as the fact that kids TV was limited and we didn't have much in the way of computers etc, parenting was more a case of benign neglect! We used to wander off for hours at a time by ourselves.

I encourage mine to get outside by having things in the garden they want to play with. For instance, we have a large trampoline that's used daily and have just bought a 6ft goal. We are lucky that we've got a big enough garden to do that.

Dd is only 3 so we need to either take her to the park or encourage an activity or something to explore to get her excited. It doesn't take a lot, we hunt snails or water plants in the garden, go for walks and practice funny steps and she loves the park. If I'm honest I need to force myself out the door some days - but once we're out we love it!

I don't think children have fewer opportunities than when I was a child to go outside, I think most children would rather sit in front of computers or ipads. Both my children enjoy being outside whenever possible. They have a trampoline in the garden, a slide etc, and we also plant and grow our vegatables, so they will get involved in that. We visit our local park regularly which they enjoy. Sometimes we go on bike rides, or even just for walks, but we will make it fun. We will walk somewhere, like a walk to our local conservation area and see how many trees we can count, or we will walk to where the horses are and go and feed them, or to the park to feed the ducks. I have a 2 and a 6year old and they both enjoy the outdoors.

Get a dog.
DS has ASD and severe anxiety - but can usually be cajoled out for a dog walk when all else fails.

Paintbrushes and water are great fun for patios, and chalks as well. Giving them sweeping brushes and cloths to 'clean' paths, Windows etc always works for us!

Let their imagination go wild and also get back to your childhood yourself and play with them but let them lead the play. Provide lots of opportunity to play outdoors whatever the weather. Let them make mud pies, dens, do treasure hunts, camp in the garden etc. My children are 14, 12 and 3 and they love being outdoors, even in this day and age. Feed their imagination and let them explore and learn, let kids be kids!.

I let my DS of 4 lead me and toddler on an 'adventure walk'. We don't have a big garden and live in town so lots of parks. It's up to him to decide if we are to feed ducks or go to a 'jungle' or to one the parks. Catching an open top bus to a big park which was 30 mins walk away was also a fun way to get to a park we would have otherwise driven to. I learnt that having a residents card meant I could go on s cheap ticket and kids were free.

Mostly, I just open the door and point. Although I have been known to resort to bribery including screen time or snacks, when the weather is particularly bad.

Other stuff they do:

The dcs have their own (very) mini patch of garden to plant, dig, mess about in - it's a small city garden, but this gives them somewhere to grow a few beans, peas, flowers, dig for worms and has proven amazing at keeping them occupied for hours at a time

Netball, football, netball net, couple of chairs for goals...

We are fortunate enough to have one very large tree. So we hung a big rope to climb, tyre to swing from and a tree swing. Many hours of happy terrifying climbing, swinging, playing pirates etc

Crazy golf - a birthday present from eld many many years ago. Still provides hours of fun.

Bubble mix - dcs spent about 3 hours doing bubble related stuff on Saturday whilst dh and I read the papers in the sunshine did useful chores