We are better, kinder, gentler parents outside. True, we are also sweatier, dirtier, and more likely to be doused with copious amounts of DEET, but the good so far outweighs the uncomfortable here that we stopped noticing. In any case, we have strong, rock solid arguments for why you need to kick your clan out into the great blue yonder.

1. Nothing connects a family like no Wifi.

Seriously. If you have fantasies of logging some serious hours of family togetherness with cards, charades, or even just actual conversation, drop your family in the closest wilderness you can rustle up. Just remember to bring a map and compass, because nothing ensures that this memory will move from good to godawful-must-recount-at-Thanksgiving-dinner-until-the-end-of-time like getting lost together without your phone’s GPS.

 

2. Wanna talk? Lace up those hiking boots.

Sulky teens and moody toddlers can both bring civil discourse to a screaming halt or entrench themselves in conversational stalemates worthy of a white flag. In any case, the cure for what is ailing your familial discussion is movement. Take this show on the road. Something about the fresh air and the one-foot-in-front-of-the-other nature of a trail gets the conversation juices flowing again.

 

3. Water cures all.

Great literature and religious traditions everywhere will back us up: water is a godsend. Sure, water can end epic droughts and convert the faithless masses, but that’s nothing compared to what it will do for a cranky kid, prickly pre-teen, or tetchy teen. Just add water and watch the magic happen. So get your cranky crew to a pool, lake, ocean, or even neighborhood swimming hole. You can even count that as a bath that day too. Tell your mother-in-law we told you so. Win, win, win.

 

4. They learn stuff.

Put away the summer reading and workbooks. If you are stressing about your kids’ brains turning to mush under the weight of a hundred unstructured days, we have the antidote to your anxiety. There is literally no end to what your kids can learn outside. Sure, they can learn useful skills like reading a map and compass or glean great information about local plants, animals, and history. But by far the most valuable thing they learn is the things you don’t teach them. It may look like boredom but there is important brain work being done when they are lying in the grass like that drooling on themselves. At least that’s what we keep telling ourselves.

 

5. Nature is the best of buffers.

This far into summer we don’t need to tell you that kids are loud. Really, really loud. And messy. And stinky. And did we mention loud? The great outdoors welcomes all that kids have to offer and then offers this back: a place for them to be fully themselves without things like pesky walls or carpets to clean. Bonus: kids outside are not as loud as pictured.

 

6. Cheap Thrills

Nature inspires their creativity and ignites their wonder. This is a fancy way of saying that once you get them out there, you don’t need to do much. Just sit back and watch them play.

 

7.  Unleash their inner warriors.

By this point in the summer, they are starting to use that b-word we all hate. Banish the boredom just by opening the door. Let their “What I did This Summer” essays start with “I found adventure”.

 

8. Build their tribe.

Nothing makes a bunch of individuals a team like some shared adventures. Create the ties that bind by offering them opportunities to make memories that will last a lifetime.

 

9. Just do it.

Show them some of the amazing things that can happen when they leave their calm, cool, air-conditioned safe space behind and just jump.

Go on now, unplug that XBOX, save the Netflix marathon for next week, and get out there already!

-Erin and Ellen

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Check out our books, “I Just Want to Be Alone” and “You Have Lipstick on Your Teeth.”

 

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