How Much Time Do You Spend Playing with Your Kids Outside

We are outside pretty much every chance we get...and yes, even when it's hot. TO help keep my kids occupied in the backyard we have a trampoline, sand table, water table, garden, and bubbles....and a hose (it's the most amazing thing according to my kids). I sit outside and relax while my kids play and get super dirty or wet. They have fun and I can relax for a little while. Unfortunately, my house is messy most of the time because I am outside with them.

We spend as much time outside as we can. Hot really doesn't bother us. We will have a water gun fight, water balloon fight, wash the car, or sit in the shade and eat popcicles. When it is warm enough we spend from 8-6:00 outside minus nap time. If kiddo's fall asleep outside on a blanket in the shade I leave them there and nap time is outside. :) I let the kid's help with the yard work.

We spend about an hour or so outside daily. (My husband is outside almost the entire weekend, so those are different for us). We also live in Texas, so the heat is an issue. And we have a pool, so the kids have to be watched the entire time. We are big fans of going out early in the day. Instead of a picnic lunch, we often do a picnic breakfast and we will hit up different parks in the area. When we go out earlier, the weather is more tolerable and the slides aren't too hot. I find that switching it up...going to different parks, taking walks in our neighborhood, playing in the front yard, etc. keeps it more interesting for everyone. Play dates help too. Instead of me playing, the kids play together and the moms supervise. Doing things in the morning helps make my kids a bit calmer and I can get more done in the house after lunch.

I can only stand about an hour as well, I just can't handle too much (working on my weight). I luckily have a fence so I can putter in the garden for another 20 mins, or help her calmly pick dandelions. She's 4 now and I can even open the windows of the kitchen and do dishes while she's out back.

I suggest just making a part of your yard fenced. A partial one would be cheaper then fencing the whole 10 acres! If you like you can even have it have no gate for her to exit from. Have the only entrance and exit be from the house.

An hour a day is now what's recommended for healthy children. Enjoy!

The 8 year old can't keep an eye on the 3 year old? I'm not being condescending, you know your kids better than anyone, it was just a thought ;)

My 5 and 7 year olds have played outside solo for years. Every house we've lived in had some sort of fenced in backyard (our 'fence' now is ugly 2 ft high lattice, ew)... There are windows so I can watch them while I'm in the kitchen or dining room/living room.

You're making a really conscience effort to get out there, so GOOD FOR YOU! You can't do it all, all the time, so don't feel bad. Some gorgeous days might get skipped altogether due to overwhelming housework or appointments... it's not the QUANTITY of time outside, it's the QUALITY. Maybe you need a change of venue... try going to a local park or playground... 30 minutes of playground time equals 3 hours of backyard time to my kids, LOL!!

We try to play outside (weather permitting) for an hour every day. It is tiring, but it's worth it b/c then my 3 yr old is more likely to take a nap (weekends) or go to bed on time (weeknight).
- sidewalk chalk
- "chase" the bubbles
- "chase" and fly a kite
- sandbox
- gardening is a big one in our house... he loves to "help" by digging a hole which I promptly ask him to fill back up and it's fun to him!
- go to the park for an hour or so... play with other kids!

**I'm with Rachel re: 8 yr old being "in charge" for 20 minutes or so at a time if you are in a safe neighborhood and can see them. You can get a lot done in 20 minutes!

Well my older 2 are 8 and 5 so I allow them outside alone. The 8yo can go alone but the 5yo has to have his brother or an adult NEVER by himself. I have a 1yo also but he could care less about being outside yet! Before I had the baby I would always be outside with them it just got too hard to have a newborn then infant outside last summer and spring(unless they are in the pool then I am outside) Sometimes we would be outside for hours and other times we would go out for an hour and come in then go back out. They never go out and stay out for hours then come in for the day. Its always in and out in incriments. When my oldest was 3 we would just go out for like a half hour at a time but I know its hard to keep the younger one inside if big brother is aloud outside whenever he wants. During school they can play outside for about an hour after school then homework time and we eat dinner late(husband doesn't get home until 630) so they can go back out until its time to eat then in for the night after dinner. This is all weather permitting though as we have snow and its been raining for like a week here.

My 4 year old could play outside forever I think.. all my kids were like that when they were younger... I usually run over to grandparents house a couple times during the week, then he has grandpa and brother to play with. I work full time and I know how you feel. Sometimes when I get home, him and daddy are playing or we'll go and play some ball outside... I just want to relax but not him...
I'm with you on the heat too... I just cannot deal with heat like I use too... My older kids will sometimes play with their younger brother but it's usually grandpa who plays the most... loves playing baseball with all the grandkids, well he was my coach...
To answer your question 30-2 hours during the week, just depends... and 1/2 day on the weekend I would say...

I am the same as you. There are some days we don't go outside at all. I hate the heat and it makes my daughter cranky to be out there for too long. Besides even now in Florida we have like a 20 min burn warning, so I worry about my fair skinned daughter. We do go swimming two to three times a week at the community pool, go on walks and such. I know the feeling that you think that you are a bad parent because you aren't spending time outside. But, then I think, "My daughter is just as happy doing things inside as out so why am I going to let it bother me?" As a side note our house makes a kinda of circle so I will take one of her animals and tell her I am going to "hide" it. She chases me around and I drop it on the floor, out of sight and she looks for it. So I know she is getting plenty of exercise.

Our yard is small and fenced, and the back of our house is all windows, so my 3 year old is out by himself. I watch him while I do laundry, etc, pick up, cook, etc. I go every little bit and check on him, but I can mostly see him.

I think an hour a day is a decent amount of time, if that is all you can manage.

What sort of toys outside do you have? We have a sand and water table - with all sand right now in it. My son has been playing with that every day for the past year. We also have a playhouse. We got both off of craigslist for cheap.

I think if you have some things she can do that are pretty stationary, you wont have to run around as much outside. Maybe you can just sit around and drink tea and tan.... :)

My 2 yr old is outside as much as possible, especially this time of year when it hasn't gotten too hot. Of course, hubby or I are with her at all times. I'd like to think that in another year she can play solo outside for short stints as long as we keep an eye on her. There's all kinds of stuff to do outside so you don't get bored and hot. We play in the sprinkler ('we' meaning both of us, I want to cool off too!), we go geocaching, hiking in a local nature preserve, bug hunting, go to the duck pond, endless options! I live in Texas, so I can definitely understand about the heat being a constraining factor. In a couple months when the temp is around 100F here, we'll do all the same stuff, but just very early in the day and play inside during mid-day.

I will let my house be a complete bomb zone if it means being outside with my boys. Even my oldest. I consider myself the neighborhood watch house during the summer. I am the only mom that is home during the day. I can do my work from outside, so i have this comfy lawn lounger i drag out across the street. Cars like to rip through our block so When i see them or hear them I throw my self out into the street until it is clear of kids. We have ages 12-2 and a half. So it is important for my own sanity to be out their with all of them. My kids or not.

I also make mine wear helmets out in the street most of the time. they are on and off scooters and bikes so much it just makes me feel better know their brains are protected. I have reason for this maddness though. We were driving home through our neighborhood last summer and I made a right turn. a little boy was cutting across the street on his bike, He was to far up the hill still when i went to turn. by the time I saw him niether of us had time to stop. He did recover from his injuries. I see him every morning I take my oldest to school. I have only let myself feel ok with my kids outside if I am there. It is my way of forgiving myself for something I had no control over.

For actual getting down and playing with them. It is a fifty fifty split. If I am the only adult(which is the case in the morning and afternoons) I keep to my post on car watch. If there is more then one adult, I let myself go and have fun. Saturday I think we did hide the easter eggs all over the front and back yard about 25 times. It was alot of fun though....If i gave myself a hour a day total for playing it would be about 3 to 4 hours a day.

We go outside as much as possible, but we live in an apartment on a semi busy street, no yard or anything so I also have to follow my 2 year old around everywhere. It is exhausting but I try to think of things for us to do like collect rocks or walk around the block and seeing how the flowers are doing... Most days we are outside at home for about an hour a day and I usually take her to the park or somewhere else outdoors for about another hour each day.

We're outside a lot, but we live near Chicago.

Maybe someone below mentioned this, but do you have a sprinkler? My sister & I loved to run through the sprinkler as kids. Maybe your daughter would delight in that & you could run through to cool off & then sit back. My mom used to tell us to do various "tricks" while she watched from the side. The "tricks" were silly things, like go backwards, walk over like a crab, hold your nose & run through, sing a silly song, see how you can stand in the middle, etc.

Another thing my kids like is to take an "inside" toy, outside. My daughter might bring a baby doll to play with, or my son some cars, that keeps them occupied for awhile.

We (3 yo and 18 month old) usually spend about 2 hours outside (after dinner, before bedtime) in the evenings. The weekends I have them outside as much as possible. Usually 3 or so hours in the morning, and a little while again in the afternoon (after nap) and 2 more or so in the evening after dinner. The longer they are outside, the better they sleep at night. My hubby and I will usually take turns outside with them if we have stuff that has to get done, otherwise we are usually both with them. We also utilize a kiddy pool a lot as the day heats up. I figure that the time outside is better for them and me than folding the laundry in the long run. :)

When my oldest was three, we spent two hours a day out side, but about 45 min of that was me biking with him behind me while we ran the dog.
Did a lot of sand box, baseball, chase and tackle.During summer months - kiddy pool and water hose.
my second, when he was three, we did a lot of water with all the family and by then we also had a swing set/tree house and still do that a lot.
My two boys will swing for hours:)
That could be a good option for you all!