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Great for kids!

Getting out on regular walks won’t only make your children healthier and happier in the short term: it could also establish good habits for later life. You’ll find it’s a great way to spend quality time with your children as you can talk and explore together.

Here are some tips for making walking fun for kids.
(Photo: Rebecca Barnham)
 

  • Don’t suggest “going for a walk” – instead make it an outing or adventure to somewhere they’ll like, such as a park, a playground, woods or a pond, a friend’s house, the shops…
  • Make it a treat – take things to eat and drink or even a picnic.
  • Don’t make it too long and hard.
  • Be prepared to go at their pace, and to cut the walk short if they get tired.
  • Make sure they have comfortable clothes and shoes, and carry extra layers for them.
  • Remember hats and sun cream, and take something for bites and stings.
  • Give them a small rucksack to pack and carry.
  • Let them take a friend.
  • Make it a treasure hunt or an I-Spy game.
  • Find out if there’s a Ramblers family walking group in your area – a great way for both you and your kids to make new friends.
  • Get them walking to school – see www.walktoschool.org.uk for more advice.

Walks with child appeal

Kids like places with lots of things to look at and places to clamber over – dunes, trees, water and beaches (though be careful close to deep, unprotected water), unusual and odd buildings, transport like trains and boats, animals (farms, zoos, woods, duckponds), famous landmarks and places connected to other things that interest them, like films, TV, pop music, books and sport. They’re usually less interested in straight and flat paths, landscapes and views.
(Photo: Fred Agbah)
 

 

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