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

DH and I enjoy being outdoors so I hope that will rub off on our DS. We don't let weather get in the way of a trip out - just dress appropriately and take a change of clothes. Getting cold and wet is a good excuse to find a cafe afterwards for a cup of hot tea.

We have a small garden but not great for playing,so DS is only going to get outside if we make the effort and take him. So its my responsibility to find opportunities to find places to explore outside. I'm in London so I think its easy here.

Play outside with them from an early age and make sure that you don't tell them off if they get muddy/ rip trousers when playing. I would much rather their clothes got dirty as they played outside than they sat indoors, imaculately dressed, but not getting fresh air and exercise.

Animal companion is defo up there.
also get involved yourself show them how to scale trees and look for bugs. So them passion and they will also learn it.

When I worked PT, we used to go straight into the garden after school for an hour. I'd get snacks and do a bit of gardening while they played. The trampoline was a big draw for one child.

Now they're older, I have to actively turn off screens, turf them outside or take them to the park. They're not keen on just going for walks, but the older one (13) is happy to get outside and dirty if there's a football involved, and the younger (10) takes a frisbee.

A day at a castle is a great incentive. Recently we were at Old Sarum and they played for hours.

I'm lucky that my eldest child (2yrs) absolutely loves the outside. He's not into watching tv and as soon as the rain stops he's busting to get out. My main tip....lett Hem get messy, play in the muck, play with pebbles, mega blocks in a Tupperware basin with some water gives hours of fun in my garden :)

Encourage them to get outside?! Please someone tell me a way to want them to come IN! They'd spend all day digging up worms and building camps in the garden if I let them...

my biggest concern with outdoor play away from the home is the environment- other people/strangers/ older children= foul language.

however, the first glimpse of sun we are out in our front garden- water tray out.. buckets and spades..chalks... books... balls... we bring the inside out...
i found the older children like nature gadgets such as magnifying glassesand bug catchers.. ant farms keeps them busy.

plating outdoors is another fave of ours- we always gor for the easy options such as sunflowers as this is so much fun watching them grow and to see who can grow the tallest sunflower.

DD loves being outside on her scooter, and getting as muddy as possible. If there is a puddle she will find it! Currently trying to move to a house with a garden, DD's main criteria is room for a trampoline!

I give my 10yo dd plenty of freedom. He's and her friends go for bike rides up to 6 miles away on their own, I just provide a pack up and make sure one of them has a mobile phone on them.
Lots of people are when they hear I let her go out and about; but I did it at that age, and there are just as many weirdos around now as there was back then.
They know not to go with strangers etc etc and they have a great time

I open the backdoor and off they rush outside to play. They also love playing in the front garden with all the other children who live in our road. I have no idea where the children from this survey who never go outside are. My difficulty is trying to get mine back inside at the end of the day.

Buying a trampoline is the best thing I ever did. Also I limit screen time to weekends only. And then only an hour or 2.
We are lucky to live close to a park so we go for walks and to play on the swings whenever we can. And a national trust membership has meant the children have had lots of fun building dens, doing trails and splashing in puddles. We make outside play as fun as possible so they would rather do that than be stuck indoors.

I tell mine that they won't be allowed on screens until they've had some fresh air and exercise. it always seems to motivate them and they've told me they feel better for it.

There is not bad weather just bad clothing.
We have waterproof all in one suits/wellies and hats and gloves. Playing in the rain is fun! The kids don't need encouraging to go outside.

I ask if they want to build dens or play with the hosepipe and they are out like a shot. Don't helicopter or panic about getting messy or try and structure their play let them be imaginative. We don't have outside toys but I like gardening and so they've helped now they do it themselves. I leave out watering cans and trowels and best of all a hosepipe them dive in muddy puddles and generally get soaked.

We'd name bits of the woods then suggest visiting them. I'd say, ' Let's go to the witches' tree.' (A fallen tree they loved to walk along and balance on.) Or the fairground ride (a tree with a long thin branch they could sit and swing on.) If we ever said, 'Let's go for a walk,' they'd groan, but if we mentioned a certain place (mud slides on the river were a favourite) then they'd have their wellies on before me.

When they were tiny I just had to fill their old baby bath with warm water and they'd spend hours outside doing water play and 'gardening.'

Open the door & set her free, it's hard to keep her inside as she gets cabin fever is she's coupes up for too long... No matter the weather!

As we live in London, I can't just tell my DD to go out and play. But I actively think of things to do outdoors, from the lovely parks, adventure playgrounds around.

We try and scoot as much as possible, and wherever possible ride bicycles. I also take my DD about once a month to some local stables to ride, I love that it's "mucky" and they can also help in the stables.

When we book holidays we actively make sure there is the possibility of swimming, walking and been outdoors.

Same as others, I just have to open the door and he's off!

We do playing together as a family - I don't just expect him to entertain himself all the time - it's fun for us too (although I'm exhausted by the end of the running races)!

We go out in all weather - no-one's going to shrink in the rain!

Getting them out in the garden with garden toys e.g. Trampoline, slide, sand pit. Involve them in gardening. Growing things is a great way to learn. My son is growing peas in his own wee patch and we have all planted sunflowers and are having a race. Taking them out to the park is good too, we have a few country parks with great paths for walking through the woods and exploring. Kids have too much technology nowadays with everything available straight away. Weather permitting mine aren't allowed scream time unless we've had time outside first. When I was wee we had a lane all the kids played out in. I think that is lacking today. All the kids in the street playing together. No idea how you could change that though. We don't have a lane now and the road isn't suitable for playing out as too busy.

Fortunately mine needs no encouragement to go outside, he's been like that pretty much since he could walk. So, good waterproofs and wellies have been essential items for us.
He loves spending time in his grandparents allotment and I think it's great that he gets to see where his food comes from.
I get cold so easily, so I think the hardest thing has been finding the right clothes that keep me warm as my son doesn't seem to feel the cold at all!

I tell my ds his challenge is to get as mucky as possible sometimes. The look on his face is great! We put on his scruffy clothes and he lets rip in the mud

Picnics, as soon as I say they can have a picnic they are desperate to go to the park or just outside to the garden. Especially if there is a prospect of eating it in some kind of den.

We have a swing, slide and trampoline in our garden for DD to play on and we have built garden play and playground visits into her daily routine.