Walking with Young Kids
Tips for making family walks fun & memorable.
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Have you ever tried to get your kids out the door for a walk, only to be met with intense complaining and gnashing of teeth?
Or maybe you managed to mobilize the little ones, only to endure their cries and complaints 10 minutes after hitting the trail?
I’ve been there!
Our family values movement and time spent outdoors. My husband and I know that these two things are essential for the health and well-being of our kids. As a result, we place a high priority on getting outside and walking together.
When COVID hit, walking and hiking at our local parks became our family’s go-to form of recreation on the weekends. I realize I’m only an expert on my own kids (who are, at the time of this writing, ages 5 and 7) BUT I can offer up the strategies and choices that have helped us “succeed” at family walks. Every family is different, so please, take what feels helpful and leave the rest behind!
©KindBody Movement, LLC
Who’s walk is it?
When my kids were MUCH younger (like, before they could walk), I would strap them in a baby carrier or stroller and get in my daily walk for exercise. As the kids got older (and fidgety-er) they wanted to start walking alongside me. That usually resulted in my getting frustrated at their slow and pokey pace!
Eventually, I realized I needed MY OWN WALK. One where I left the kids behind and walked at my own quick pace. One that left me feeling physically worked out so that I returned home feeling lighter and ready to tackle the demands of the day. It was very much a “put your own oxygen mask on first” scenario!
Once I had my own walk under my belt, I could let go of the frustration of having to meander at a child’s pace. The family walk felt less urgent and I could lean in to the frequent stops and really focus on giving my kids the gift of walking.
As you head out for a walk with your kids, ask yourself, “Who’s walk is it?” and adjust your expectations accordingly. If you answered, “This is my walk,” you might want to bring along the stroller, wagon, bike, or scooter so your child can keep pace with you.
The Dirty Butt Brigade leading our pack. ©KindBody Movement, LLC
Why your kids need their own walk.
Kids need to move. Sure, most of this movement should come through self-directed, free play—things that involve big body actions like climbing, jumping, running, and hanging. They also need to walk—a lot.
Kids can quickly scale up their ability to walk over a regular distance but they can quickly lose the ability as well—especially in the younger years or around the time of a growth spurt (like those times they wake up in the morning and seem taller).
One time when my son was three, I gave up on family walks in the intense heat of the East Tennessee summer. When we restarted our family walks as part of our COVID homeschool a few weeks later, my son had lost some of his stamina.
Even though it had only been a few weeks since our last family walk, my son had grown a lot and his weight surpassed his endurance. As kids do, he adapted. By the end of that first week, he walked much longer before asking to be carried. Then, the following week, he walked close to two miles all on his own.
When adults head out for a walk with a few extra pounds, we don’t usually notice. But when you only weigh 30 pounds and you gain three—that’s a big deal! It’s a ten percent increase! That means your kids will be more likely to succeed when walking becomes a habit.
Walking is a vegetable.
“But mom, why do we have to take a walk? Why can’t we just play outside?”
For a while, this was my daughter’s favorite refrain. Here’s how I would answer her:
“Playing outside is SO fun and walking is important too—it’s one of the things that made us human. Think about it like food: the thing that you like (playing outside) is like a dessert. The thing that you don’t like (going for a walk) is like a vegetable. Vegetables do SO MANY things for our bodies and we need them to stay healthy. Same thing with walking—it does SO MUCH for our bodies and it can help us stay healthy. Even though it’s not quite as yummy as a dessert, we still need to do it.”
I also might throw in, “You always end up having some fun on our walks.”
Walking is learning.
You don’t have to be a homeschooling family to use walking as a learning opportunity. (Our family no longer does homeschool but we still learn plenty while walking!)
Simply paying attention to your surroundings can be an education. If you walk a lot in the same place, you can observe changes in the environment over time.
Our daily walks take place in our neighborhood and we have certain “landmarks” we like to check on: Is the cricket bush quiet today? Have those spider eggs hatched yet? What’s going on with that bird’s nest? Are there any new mushrooms in the neighbor’s yard?
Sometimes, checking on one of these landmarks will be the motivator for our walk. My kids enjoy checking in on the neighborhood especially as the seasons change.
Young kids are naturally curious. Use your family walking time as an opportunity to fan the flame of their curiosity by learning the names of trees, plants, and birds. Explore the life cycles of the insects and animals you encounter. If you, the parent, don’t feel particularly knowledgeable about nature, use a field guide, nature journal, library books, or the internet and learn alongside your child.
Learning the names of the plants, trees, and animals in your neighborhood can foster a sense of connection and belonging—and that just feels good! While walking in places away from home, you have the opportunity to compare and contrast the environment and learn the names of new species.
Our family has enjoyed using the Exploring Nature Activity Book for Kids and Nature Anatomy (among others) to guide our learning.
©KindBody Movement, LLC
Here’s 8 other practical tips for walking with young children:
01: Define “success” for your family. And then maybe redefine it.
What does it mean to you to have a successful walk? What needs to happen for you, the parent, to enjoy yourself? If you as the parent—the leader of the walk—aren’t looking forward to setting out, it’s going to be pretty hard to motivate the rest of your team as well.
One thing that helps me to have a good time on a family walk, is spending some time with the trees. I like to stand with them, hang on them, feel their bark, and examine their leaves.
If your idea of a “successful” family walk is one that is free from complaints, you’ll probably need to adjust your attitude in order to “succeed.”
©KindBody Movement, LLC
02: Start small & develop a routine.
Some adults might feel put off by the thought of a routine. But the fact is, most children really thrive when they know what to expect. It helps them feel in control.
The routines in our house aren’t so much “by the clock” as they are rhythms. While we homeschooled, my kids knew that after breakfast, we would go for a walk. (As opposed to be outside by 8:00am sharp—or else!)
To establish a regular, family walk, choose a time of day when your kids are well-fed and not sleepy. Then, find an activity that signals the habit. For us, that was breakfast—After breakfast, we go for a walk. For your family it might be after dinner or after TV time. This will become your mantra, “After [existing habit], we go for a walk.”
Neighborhood walks are low stakes—they don’t require a lot of preparation, planning, or packing. It’s much easier to throw on your shoes and head out the door! Getting into the habit of these small, neighborhood walks can help your kids succeed on longer “recreational” walks and hikes. It also can give you, the parent, a better idea of what your kids are capable of.
Remember that because kids are always growing, they need regular walks to help them maintain their endurance relative to their rapidly increasing body mass. Think of these small, neighborhood walks as training or conditioning. Even if your walk only lasts 10 minutes each day, it still matters!
©KindBody Movement, LLC
03: Set predictable limits.
When our kids were smaller, they frequently asked to be carried after a certain amount of time had passed. Because walks around our neighborhood were so short (under two miles), we deemed them “no carry” walks.
We knew what our kids were capable of walking and, barring any unforeseen events, we wouldn’t carry them on these shorter walks. Even though we communicated the limit to our kids, they still asked for us to carry them sometimes. We held steady to the limit and said, “This is a no carry walk. I can hold your hand though.”
Now that the kids are a bit older, they frequently outpace us by walking quickly or running ahead. At this point, we’re setting limits about how far ahead they can travel without us and rules for crossing the street.
The limits you set will depend on the age of the child and your family’s values. Communicate limits with your child before you set out so everyone knows what to expect.
04: Let them complain.
Walking with kids is no walk in the park. Be prepared for complaining!
There’s all kinds of complaints on walks: I’m too hot. I’m too cold. My legs don’t work. I’m tired. There’s a bump in my sock. The sun is in my eyes. That bug is following me. She’s in the lead and I wanted to be in the lead…the list goes on.
We let our kids complain. Sometimes that looks like walking around the neighborhood with crying children. We are of course supportive and empathizing, saying things like, “I’m hot too.” —or— “I know this hill is so hard—when will we get to the top?” —or— “That bug is pretty annoying.”
When the fussing starts, stay grounded. Breathe deeply and try to keep calm. In the same ways that adults just like to complain sometimes (without expecting any advice or action on the listener’s part to remedy the situation), kids like to vent a bit too. Don’t feel obligated to solve the complaining. Some things—especially weather related complaints—you have no control over.
Sometimes your kids will just be in a funk and you’ll have to accept that. It’s definitely not fun listening to complaints for an extended period of time. Come back to the things you know will help you to feel like your walk was a success (for me that’s hugging trees and identifying wildlife).
Obviously, we want our kids to be strong, competent walkers. Sometimes on longer walks or after a fall, we need to carry them a bit. This is great weight training for the grown-up! ©KindBody Movement, LLC
05: Get silly. Play games.
At the beginning of the walk, the child is an explorer headed out into the (somewhat) unknown. On the way back, they’ve been there, done that and they may need help to focus on something other than their fatigue (which could very well just be mental fatigue and not necessarily physical). Here’s where games and silliness come in handy.
When my son was three, I knew that at a certain point in our walk he would say, “My legs don’t work.” (This usually happened as we started the uphill portion of our walk.) Instead of waiting for him to say it, I tried to say it first. I started to drag my legs and walk funny. I asked my kids to push me up the hill. A lot of the time, they were too busy giggling to notice that going uphill feels hard.
When the complaining continues at length and I can tell my kids are getting tired, I often suggest we try different ways of walking. I explain that walking one way uses certain muscles and walking another way will use other muscles. Maybe our forward walking muscles are tired and we need to use our backward walking muscles. Sometimes we walk sideways. Sometimes we take big lunge steps. Sometimes we try to walk like an animal.
Here’s a few other tricks, games, and activities to make walking more fun and engaging:
Play “I Spy”
Play “Shadow Tag” - instead of tagging the person, tag their shadow with a foot stomp
Play “Red Light Green Light”
Go on a nature scavenger hunt - there’s lots of these online!
Take a matchbox walk - bring along a matchbox and let your child fill it with tiny treasures
Bring a magnifying glass
Bring your nature journal - could be a blank Field Notes notebook or something with a bit more structure like this one.
Make a nature bracelet - wind some tape around your child’s wrist with the sticky side facing outward. They can stick flowers or leaves to it to make a nature bracelet.
Take a night walk with flashlights or lanterns - the dark can be an exciting novelty!
Go on a bug hunt
Bring a map - have older children help read the map and/or relevant trail signs
©KindBody Movement, LLC
06: Bring snacks. For longer walks, motivate with chocolate.
Growing bodies need lots of fuel! With neighborhood walks, the snacks are close by at home. If you’re driving somewhere to walk, however, bring snacks and water.
We love to stop about halfway through our walk for a snack picnic. Aim for snacks that have a combo of protein, carbohydrates, and fat to give kids (and grown-ups) long lasting energy! Even just a short sit-down break can re-energize a young kiddo.
We incentivize longer walks and hikes with fruit snacks and/or chocolate in the car on the way home. Everybody loves a sweet reward for their efforts!
07: Acknowledge the effort.
When you ask a kid what they want to do for fun, they’re probably not going to say, “Take a challenging walk with my family.” This walk was your idea, mom. We show gratitude to our kids for coming on the walk (sometimes with chocolate). “Thank you for walking with me today. I know there were parts that felt hard. I had a lot of fun with you though!”
We also help our children recognize their accomplishments. “Wow, you walked further today than you did yesterday,” or “I noticed your legs didn’t get tired until we were almost home.”
There’s the kids walking in a pack way ahead of the grown-ups with my son trying to catch up. ©KindBody Movement, LLC
08: Walk in a pack.
Kids are pack animals. They walk better with other kids.
Multi-family walks and hikes benefit everyone. The kids get to run off ahead with their friends in their own universe while the grownups enjoy some uninterrupted conversation.
Alternately, you could help out another parent with some babysitting on the move. The other parent will have some alone time for work or self-care and you and the kids will score some movement and fun. Take turns babysitting on the move so all the grownups get a break.
Conclusion
We know walking and spending time outdoors is important for our overall health. But sometimes the challenge of walking with young kids can feel like an uphill battle! Hopefully these tips will help you get your family moving with greater ease!
