Mumsnet user share how they get their family to explore the outdoors with HONEST® Kids drinks

[EllieMumsnet]

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With modern day technology making up a fairly large part of most families lives nowadays, it can be difficult to find ways to spend quality time together in the great outdoors. HONEST® Kids would love you to share your top tips for getting your family to put the technology down and get out and about.

Here’s what HONEST® Kids have to say: “We all love the great outdoors but sometimes it can feel a little daunting thinking of ways to make the most of what is on the doorstep whilst being suitable for the whole family to enjoy together. Our great-tasting, organic drinks combine organic fruit juices, water and natural flavourings to provide simple drinks that your kids will love and in the same way we want to encourage simple, organic family time together.

Giving mums and dads peace of mind, the HONEST® Kids range contains no added sugar, is low-calorie and sweetened only with fruit juice. Keeping children’s playtime refreshing and fun, it is available from selected Tesco stores nationwide."

Do you schedule a walk with the family once a week to ensure you all get that bonding time outside? What about planning different games to play outside, in order to engage the young ones more? Perhaps you make the most of your garden by getting your DC’s playing outside, doing a bit of gardening or even just relaxing with a good book in the fresh air?

Whatever your tips are, share them on the thread below in order to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

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We can see the park from our house, so we have lots of walks/play time there.

My girls are never happier than when they are outside so every Sunday we head off to a local country park to enjoy some fresh country air and a good stroll in the countryside before heading home for a roast dinner. I love that my children enjoy the outdoors and do everything I can to encourage their love for being outside. We don't do sitting in front of the TV or on ipads!

My two are quite active but they absolutely despise walking for the sake of it, rather than to get somewhere. They will just about put up with a “trail” though so we take advantage of Easter trails, bluebell trails, Gruffalo trails, sculpture trails, treasure hunts and whatever else is on offer.

We often go on long country walks, we have done this ever since the kids were newborns so they are used to being in the outdoors. Love to do this as a family and so invest in things like wellies & raincoats for winter walks. We take picnics with us to keep costs low and therefore it's a cheap day out. Many places have cool themed walks, like recently we went on a Gruffalo trail , my 2 year old toddler loved that one the best!

A walk outside and a garden that is child friendly. Joining the National Trust has helped too.

Chalk or stone drawing on the patio. "Painting" the wooden fence with water, using proper paint brushes and rollers.
A washing up bowl of warm soapy water to give their garden toys a bath.
Mini-beast hunt with magnifying glass.
A Pestle & mortar and a small bowl of water and food coloring provided hours of fun making "perfume" out of petals & grass.
Making bug/fairy houses

So many things to entertain them outside. Just need some warmer weather to coax them out for a decent amount of time! Neither of mine like the cold.

We have a large trampoline and a fire pit that the kids love to use in the winter- gets them outside even when it's freezing. In better weather we go to the woods. I bought them both penknives and we built dens and shelters and learned about the trees and plants we saw there. Phones are only for taking pictures and the data gets switched off until we get home. Both kids love our walks and still want to go and build fires or learn about nature even though they're now nearly 14 and 11. Let's us all reconnect with each other. Some of the best memories I have are our walks.

Every night after dinner my DS and I go for a walk - summer and winter (assuming it's not pouring with rain).

In winter it's dark so we keep to roads and parks; in summer we go down the bridleway by our house and across some of the fields with cattle/sheep etc. We love seeing the changing seasons and having the time alone with us and nature to talk to each other...

We feed the ducks once a week, whatever the weather. We have a massive bag of seeds and siphon some off when needed.
We also get the bus to the woods and take part in outdoors storytelling sessions, which are great if your park has them.
We also have a zoo membership, which is brilliant for a walk and a chat. (And a look at the tigers.)

We try and do anything we can outside, painting, water play, doll play. I’ve got a tuff tray and we fill it and spend hours outside.

Me and the kids walk to and from school everyday. They both have a lot of energy so the fresh air is a great way to burn it off!
They both love the weekend though as we explore the local footpaths and forests with the dog. Even better if it's wet so puddle jumping can commence!

DD loves her trampoline and trips to the park on her scooter or bike

We've recently moved house and we finally have a garden! Luckily my kids enjoy gardening, so we went to the garden centre last week and bought strawberry and sunflower seeds, the kids have been busy planting and can't wait to move them outside once they've grown!
We also make the most of our local national park, it has some really nice (but not too long) walking trails which the kids love.

We create lists of things to find or have a bag to collect interesting things as we walk, having a dog helps and making up stories as we go!

My kids are fairly outdoorsy kids any way, and love being out the in garden, although long country side walks require extra persuasion (bribery).

I do a scavenger type hunt for them, spot a robin, a line of ants, a leaf with points, a thorny branch and their favourite, find a cow pat. Sometimes we turn it into a competition, who can find the most lady birds, or who can spot the most deer, just something, i tend to make it up on the spot and have a little notepad and pencils I keep in the car so DD (8) can keep tally - winning is very important to her DS (3) just likes finding the bugs.

My toddler loves Peppa Pig so will go outside to look for muddy puddles everyday. If it's a sunny day and there are no puddles she likes to use the water from her water table in the garden to make them, keeps her happy for ages

We like to take a blanket outside in the warm weather and play/read on it. We have lots of picnics to explore nearby areas. Or we play with bubbles and watering cans outside the house.

I encourage them out into the garden with a trampoline, football goal and netball post. They're at school in the week but we always take the dog out for a walk together at the weekend.

When they were little I took out membership at the local arboretum as it was a lovely safe place for them to toddle around and encourage them to explore nature and the great outdoors.
We now have National trust membership which gives us lots of access to places with nice gardens and walks - we can use this locally and also when we visit family/friends or go away on holiday.

Woodland walks are always good. There’s always something to see and I try to point things out (unusual plants, animal footprints in mud) to get those enquiring minds working

We set off for walks and let DS be the leader. It doesn't matter what route he chooses, even if we go round in circles, but letting him be in control and leading the adventure really engages him. He has fond memories of paths and cafes we have discovered on some of his 'expeditions'.

We have a gruffalo trail nearby, the boys love it.
If it's cold we have a hot chocolate in the little cafe.

We also go to nearby National trust properties that have outdoor wooden play parks
The boys enjoy the building a den area.

We have bought magnifying glasses and bug books so the little ones can do bug safaris around the garden.
We have built a large bug hotel and the boys had a great time going around looking for sticks and cones to furnish the hotel.

Nothing however beats a good old fashioned kick around in the park with a ball and then finding big muddy puddles to jump in

I don't have a garden but I take my 4 year old up to my dad's allotment whenever I can; it's a great opportunity for her to learn about growing food to eat and she loves to dig and choose what to plant! And when she gets bored there's always a wheelbarrow to get ferried about in! She loves it up there, she has fun, gets lots of exercise and fresh air and learns a lot too.

We go for nice dog walks at the weekend and after school if it’s a nice day. Usually to the forest or the beach, occasionally to a big park that has a combined dog walking field (this is a good place!)

Dc play out after school every day as long as it isn’t raining really. They have a trampoline, plenty of toys and spend hours playing on scooters and towing things about with cars and wagons.

Wellies coats and hats and they are good to go. They sleep so well after a day spent outdoors.

I also ban technology during the week. They get a couple of hours on a Saturday and Sunday morning so we can have a lie in and then ipads fo away for the rest of the week. They watch tv tho after dinner.
I find if they have iPads any more they get really grumpy with each other and don’t play together.

The older one (10) like to go to the local shop on her own so I try to send her there for something on her weekends with me.

There's a nice walk just on our doorstep that I do with them if we have no other plans.

National Trust membership and days out with friends seems to work well for them.

The younger one is more adventurous so I take her abseiling and soon she's going to have a go at caving.

Cheap holidays in the UK - the kids are so much more interested when the walk is somewhere 'on holiday'

the latest outside thing my DS has been inspired to do in the outdoors is make outdoor art ala Andy Goldsworthy www.google.co.uk/search?q=andy+goldsworthy&tbm=isch