Most of my readers know that I have a young daughter, and many of them have previously read posts in which I alluded to the fact that I plan – in some capacity or another – to have her involved in the outdoors.  My hope is that she enjoys hunting and fishing along with the rest of us, but I would be more than happy if she developed any sort of love of the outdoors – whether it be hiking, cross country skiing, or camping just to name a few.

I’ve thought about this subject many times, and have pondered how I would help to instill a love of the outdoor world within her.  And in the spirit of Kristine’s challenge she posted on the OBS site, I thought I would lay out a few ways I plan to get my daughter into the outdoors.  Of course, these ideas could also apply to getting any child in the outdoors, which is the whole idea behind Kristine’s post in the first place. And without further ado:

1. First, we’ve always included her in any outdoor-related event we’ve been involved in since she was very young.  At only 16 months of age we’ve had her camping multiple times, fishing quite a few times, and just all around hanging out outside as often as we can.  We want being outside, and enjoying nature to be an every day type of thing; we want it to be expected.
2. Second, we plan to provide her with plenty of outdoor-related variety.  As I alluded to in the start of this post, I would love nothing more than to have her involved in hunting and fishing, but more so, I want her to be involved in the outdoors in one way or another.  The only way to truly do that is to provide her with as many outdoor opportunities as possible.  I want her to be exposed to fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, skiing, sledding, and a host of many other outdoor activities early and often.  Having her exposed to a variety of outdoor activities will allow her to have more choices, and increase the likelihood that she will possess some sort of outdoor love far into the future.
3. Third, I plan to have the love of the outdoors to be a non-pressured choice.  I want her to want to be in the outdoors and enjoying nature, rather than forcing her to be an outdoor lover.  I want to show her the many different things the outdoors has to offer, and then let her choose what outdoor-related activity fits her best.  I will not shove the outdoors down her throat, or make her feel pressured to enjoy any particular style of outdoor enjoyment; I will simply show her many different types of outdoor activities, and let her decide which ones she likes best.
4. Fourth, I will always make sure to take time to share the outdoors with her.  All of us have many demands that are put on us every day, and that makes it very easy to make excuses for why we didn’t get outside and spend time with our kids.  Despite those demands, I will always do my best to spend time with her in nature; after all that is the foundation that starts a love of nature that will last a lifetime.
5. And the most important thing you can do to instill a love of nature in young children?  Allow them to be kids – let ‘em make mud pies, chase lightning bugs, play flashlight tag, and have some fun while keeping the video games and television watching to a minimum.  Trust me, they’ll never miss ‘em.

I believe these five points are excellent starting points that will help to instill a love of nature in young children.  And I hope they do their part to instill a love of nature into my daughter.  I hope we enjoy the outdoors together in some capacity, and I hope that the points I listed above help us to do just that.

I want a love of nature to be a natural thing in Abby’s life, and to not be forced.  I think the points I listed above will help in that endeavor, and I look forward to sharing every minute I get with her outside.

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