Diverse Outdoor Activities for Children

Engaging kids in outdoor activities has loads of benefits not only to the physical growth of children but it also reinforces cognition and learning, promotes social and emotional development. Children who are always around people and nature have a better sense of social interaction, empathy, and has a stronger concept of self identity and self-worth.

We have been trying our best to expose our children outdoor and encourage them to be active and interact with peers. The need to be active is especially important for our children as they are asthmatic; they say asthma is a modern-day disease.  Although modern medicine has provided us with effective asthma treatment, having a sound body and a healthy lifestyle would certainly make a load of difference.

Going out is something that my husband and I are not accustomed to doing as we are home-buddies and introverts. However, having children is a whole new story, especially that the kids have a rather outgoing personalities. The activities below are those that are available around our community. Some may not be possible with you however we hope that these could give you some ideas.

So here are some few of the things that we have been doing to get the children out of the house and catch some rays.

Kayaking. is another great family outdoor activity. It is something different from what children usually do, so they would find this exciting.  Although there are few risks to think about, but if the water is not too rough, it is pretty safe for kids.

kayaking @Satun Thailand

Bicycle around the house or neighborhood. Now that my son already knows to ride a bicycle,  he’s excited to go out of the house and go on an adventure as he would call it.

Walk along the beach and collect some shells. Our house is just a block away from Chalatat beach and Samila Beach.  So it’s so easy to stroll on the beach, collect some shells, and breathe in some fresh sea air after school.

Figurine painting with water color. Another favorite activity that my children love is painting at the beach.Plant some vegetables. I’m keen on growing our own produce and so I thought of a garden in the city.  Our place is tiny,  but we managed to turn a portion of the patio into a mini garden.  My kids caught up and planted their own vegetables. Now one of their favorite household chores is watering plants.

Go spelunking caves. Thailand is extremely abundant with natural resources like caves,  jungle,  and waterfalls.  These are great places to explore and experience the beauty of  nature with your family. In one of our trips in Satun Thailand, we visited Phu Pha Phet Cave or the Diamond Cave.  Unlike Tham Luang Cave in Chiang Rai, where a young soccer team was trapped for 18 days, this cave is big and super spacious inside, as well as dry and dusty.

Spelunking Phu Pha Phet

Enjoy a waterfall. As mentioned there is no shortage of waterfalls in Thailand.  One particular waterfall we like is the Wang Sai Thong in Satun Thailand, the entire waterfall basin and paths have high deposits of calcified limestone.  So the place is not slippery. Pretty safe for super active children.

Chill out at the beach. Whether the purpose is to swim or simply hang out there, a beach is an awesome place and children love it.  Aside from swimming, my kids love to feel the sand and build sand castles. A nice way to reconnect with earth, and boosts your child’s immunity by contact with microbes living in sand. They enjoy swimming greatly that a swimming pool is one of the things we look for when booking a hotel to stay for a short staycation or vacation.

Going to museums. A museum is a great place to explore and experience so many things about history, arts and crafts, sciences,  and many others.  What’s awesome with some of the museums here,  is that they are situated in pretty interesting sites like on top of a hill,  park,  and temples.

Explore and Experience

Family time at the park. For city dwellers city parks are the closest to nature one could get. And there are so much stuff kids could do, like play with their Frisbee, fly kites,  bike around,  explore the place and find different plants and insects,  or may be just run around while Mom and Dad are chilling out with their read.

Camping, may it be day camp or an overnight camping, is an exciting outdoor activity that would surely encouraged children and adults alike especially if they do this together with peers. This is a great venue for them to interact with others and exercise their learnt interpersonal and social values.

Songkhla Thailand
Day Camp @Samila Sheep Farm

Nature photography is another great outdoor activity families could engage to bond, learn, and have fun.  Our daughter is showing interests in photography and is following dad’s footsteps. Below are some of her photos during a day trip to the zoo.

Empowered Kids Corner: Following Dad’s Footsteps

Corner: Following Dad’s Footsteps[/caption]

Take self-defense lessons like Taekwondo. Apart from self-defense, children can also develop motor coordination and balance.

Play basketball, football, or any sports your kids are into.

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104 thoughts on “Diverse Outdoor Activities for Children

  1. This is a great post! Children should enjoy diverse outdoor activities at a young age so they continue to do so as they grow up. I see way too many children on technology more than enjoying the outdoors.

    1. Parents should bring kids outside more often for this reason. However, as easy as it may seem, parents nowadays are burden by so many work thus we struggle to do this, including me of course.

  2. Nice advice. I pass this to moms who need outdoor activities this summer. I strongly advise people to take tae-kwon-do. It’s amazing and you get a lot of it.

    1. Thanks Aisasami! My son who used to be so uncoordinated in terms of physical moment has actually learn to balance more and what’s more is that he learn rhythm.

  3. Awesome photos. These two babies are so cute. It’s very important to always give time and expose kids at younger age how beautiful and fun it is being in the outdoor.

  4. Such a fun post. These days kids are so much over burdened with studies and extra curricular that they do need time for refreshment and the activities you have mentioned are best. I have a nephew who is five years old and he loves cycling and collecting sea shells by the beach. So kids love outdoor activities.

  5. Kids now a days they love to use gadget instead of playing outside 🙂 these activities are the great thing to go kids outside 🙂 especially going to the museums 🙂

  6. Thailand is one of my dream cities! I think it is such a beautiful country, I think because of the cave situation that happened recently I would skip it but everything else you mentioned yes!

  7. I like all your ideas and love doing things outdoors. Kids definitely need be outside more this days.
    Thanks for all the tips and ideas.

  8. I really enjoyed this post. I do not have any children but I do have a niece and I would definitely try some of these activities with her before summer ends. It’s good to forget about technology for a while and just enjoy the beautiful earth we live on!

  9. Great activities! It’s so important to get the littles outside! I try to do something new with them at least once a week, (I’m a SAHM,) but sometimes we just end up doing the same old, going to the park and hanging in the back yard.

  10. I love everything about this post! I am a staunch advocate of getting kids to put away electronics and get outside and create their own fun.

  11. Children aren’t getting outside enough these days so I think these ideas are wonderful for both the kids and the parents to enjoy!

  12. Some fun activities for kiddies to engage and also use up all their energy. Really like the vibe and composition of your photos too!

  13. Great suggestions!!! I struggling getting outside with my 3 kids (5 year old and 2 year old twins) because we’re in the city so it’s a big outting just to go across the street to the park haha! But I need more creative fun ideas to get us (me) excited!

  14. I think it’s very important for children to stay outdoors whenever they can instead of sitting at home and playing computer games. I love your ideas! 🙂

  15. we should always encourage children for outdoor activities i think it is the very good way for children to do outdoor activities.

  16. This looks like so much fun! I love having my kids outside. I think somewhere between my generation and the current kids forgot what it is like to actually play outside, with video games and social media some just dont even bother. i think it is super important to spend time outside as much as they can!

  17. Great tips! However as long as my Daughter is still a baby, I can’t use many activities from the list 😉 But I also do all of my best to spend time outside with her. What we usually do is going to park/beach, organising swimming pool in the garden, hiding in tent, “baking cakes” from the sand, playing with snow in winter or going to playground with other parents and babies… When I’m in Istanbul and I need to shop, I’m going to Watergarden. The shops have the exit to outside, there’s a big playground and each hour there’s a fountain show. Bibi really enjoys it! 😀

  18. My little sister’s favorite thing to do outdoors is bike riding! We love going out the park and just riding along the trails.

  19. Absolutely love these ideas to play with your kids outdoors. There’s so much outside of our homes to engage and inspire them. You’re winning the mom game!!

  20. My kids LOVE being outside and we’re at the beach constantly. It’s definitely going to be fun to be able to do more outdoor activities when they’re older.

  21. These are all great outdoor activities children must experience that would mold their character and well being over time. I remember when I was a little girl, my parents would let us wander around our grandparents farm. They let us explore new things we don’t get to experience in the city.

  22. All the activities are really very enjoyable for kids. Apart from playing only on mobile phones, They should be taught more about such outdoor activities. Very Well wriiten 🙂

  23. This list is wonderful! I wish I had a beach nearby as that would be my favorite. I only have one little munchkin and he is 1 1/2 years old, we do go outside quite a bit though.

  24. My favorite childhood game is Chinese Garter. Haha! How fun it is to be a child. No responsibilities. Your list is really good.

  25. These are such good ideas to help keep the kids occupied outside of the house! These are great especially for the summer and long weekends to help make sure the kids aren’t getting too much screen time.

  26. It is good to engage children in diverse activities. It expands their outlook and enhances their abilities. Really liked the photographs.

  27. These are some things even our family would do. we live going to museums and farms and it really helps kids and parents to connect. great tips

  28. I love everything on this list! My kids do love going to museums. And we love waterfalls. We’re in Texas, and it’s hot here, so any way we can cool off is a plus.

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