Creating Family Bonds Through Outdoor Adventures

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Creating Family Bonds Through Outdoor Adventures

Building and maintaining family bonds is very important for family unity. One of the ways to get closer as a family is through outdoor activities. You stay in nature and you are together – 2 birds with one stone.

Nature offers you a handful of opportunities and challenges that can bring you closer far from everyday distractions and obligations. We researched for you how to deepen the important family bond, maintain tradition, but also develop team spirit through outdoor activities.

The Importance of Family Bonding in Nature

Who wouldn’t like to “get away” a little from the hustle and bustle of work to enjoy with their family?! Household chores can wait and you can watch series at any time. Turn off those phones and TVs and laptops for a minute.

A study conducted by Nature Explore has reported that family activities and spending time outdoors can improve social bonding and trust within families. Furthermore, families engaged in these activities have increased cohesiveness and a greater sense of trust among themselves.

Shared experiences build mutual trust and encourage you to work as a team. You probably know who’s strengths are so you can share the tasks so that everyone feels that they contributed to the solution. It’s a great thing when you know you can rely on each other, which means that your children will ask you questions that they might not ask you in the middle of some chores at home. They feel that you are also more relaxed so they will use the opportunity to talk. And you use it too.

While in nature, show them how nature should be preserved and how their little things can make big changes. Be an example to them, that way you will gain their respect and they will feel cool because they are doing something like the “big ones”.

Planning Meaningful Outdoor Family Adventures

Plan outdoor activities that will be interesting for everyone. When planning, keep everyone involved (at least in some way) no matter what age.

Hiking some easier trails or exploring the parks are easier activities that are adaptable for everyone. Don’t forget to learn something too – explore new plants, animals or historical places. It is also a good idea to set a goal to make the trip even more interesting, for example to reach a viewpoint or see a certain number of bird species.

When it sounds like a little competition, everyone will be a lot more engaged.

Three Activities That Strengthen Family Relationships

The appropriate selection of activities can enhance the quality of your small family outing. It’s best to have interesting activities for everyone so that they become more participative (you don’t want anyone being left out or bored).

If you’re not very imaginative yourself, don’t hesitate to ask the kids for their wild ideas (they usually have a couple), as their creative juices flow all day.

1.   Family Hiking and Nature Walks

This is more like the most basic thing that comes to everyone’s mind whenever outdoor recreational activities are being discussed.

And it’s actually a brilliant idea because people get to do something active outside while they take in the beauty of the surroundings at the same time (fun AND healthy). You may decide to take a short hike in one of the parks. And for the more adventurous ones, there’s always a farther (more challenging) site to explore.

Include additional activities such as everyone leading a part of the path or guessing the plants you find along the way. You can make a small map for the children with signs they have to follow and they can collect fallen leaves along the way and later make a memory of that trip.

2.   Camping Experiences

Camping still requires a little more preparation, but that’s why it’s more interesting and requires more involvement of all family members (ok, maybe a little more from adults). True teamwork is shown through setting up camp together, collecting wood for the fire and building the fire pit.

Feel free to admire the team’s success. When you sit by the fire, everyone can tell a story or the most beautiful memory from the family. Don’t forget stargazing. It is priceless in places like this which are far from the city lights.

3.   Scavenger Hunt

We still have to add a little adventurous spirit. Adapt to the circumstances and make a list of things that need to be found in nature – certain leaves, stones, flowers, etc. Make teams to make it even more tense but also set a reward. For the children to have a better time, you can also make team tags consisting of thematic patriotic hats and patches.

For example, each patch can have tags that represent each team. With this, you teach them teamwork and competitive spirit, but also togethernes (which is a core family value).

Conclusion

Participating in outdoor activities enhances the family bonding process and helps instill core values through fun, leisure-based activities. When everyone huddles and engages in say, hiking or camping or going for a particular area’s scavenger hunt, it’ll translate to amazing memories that would otherwise be missed by starting into a screen (most likely).

For sure with family, those walks also enhance children’s capabilities, resourcefulness, and their innovativeness, which will serve them well in the future.

Sometimes, things can be measured in terms of monetary value, of course. However, nothing can equal in value the joy of being in the company of loved ones.