How to Approach Nature for Kids Who Love Electronics
We know our kids should spend more time outdoors in the warmer months, but sometimes it’s hard. It can feel like pulling teeth to get them to get off their devices to spend some time in nature. Nature for kids who are growing up on devices seems boring and irrelevant. After all, teens may spend as much as nine hours a day looking at screens, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Even younger children spend a lot of time on devices. Many classrooms now use Chromebooks and iPads as early as Kindergarten! But, nature for kids who love electronics can feel boring and pointless. After all, they argue, technology is the future, it’s where it’s at!
However, technology doesn’t feed the soul and in fact, can be soulless. If we want our children to gain the benefits of the outdoors, we have to get creative about enticing them to get out there!
How to Approach Nature for Kids Who Love Electronics
Getting kids off their phones or iPads might be difficult, but what if you could integrate the two? These fun suggestions are best for children ages 8 and up, but if you do them as a family, they can also work for younger children.
Use an app
One way to do nature for kids who love electronics is to integrate the tech with the non-tech. Why not use a geocaching, scavenger hunt, or photography challenge phone app? The app generates the hunts and challenges. Then, you enter your finds into the app. Some have prizes or level up opportunities, too.
This is a great option because part of the appeal of devices is the constant stream of novelty. Nature for kids often seems like a sea of green and brown with nothing to see. I’ve actually heard kids say, “Nature is so boring. It all looks the same.” But, engaging in a hunt of some kind gets kids paying attention and seeing the constant change, the variety of green tones, and the thrill of new finds.
A few apps even generate hunts based on your location, so you’re sure to find something! Some examples include: Let’s Roam, Adventure Lab, or Geocaching. Again, I have not personally tried all of these, so please use parental discretion. Here are some other ideas on outdoor games using your device.
Augmented Reality Games
It can be pretty cool to see your favorite characters from a movie or other media “come to life” in the real world. It certainly gets kids outdoors, even if they aren’t engaged in nature.
One great example is Pokemon. I am not a fan of Pokemon, but they certainly reignited interest in the game when they launched Pokemon Go back in 2016. It is a perfect example of an augmented reality (AR) game, though. For the first time, players could see the game’s characters in their own real lives. However, Pokemon Go is not the only game offering AR. Some other possibilities include: Ingress, Zombies: Run!, or Harry Potter: Wizards Unite!
I recommend parental discretion with these games as some may not be appropriate for young children or may have adult themes. All of these games encourage interacting with your environment, running, walking, and generally, getting more active. Some also encourage community, much like the old Dungeons and Dragons.
Other Ideas for About Nature for Kids Who Love Electronics
What about a plant identification challenge or a free printable nature scavenger hunt? They can use a plant ID app and their phone’s camera to complete the challenge. Or, how about using an active cam to record their daring adventures for a YouTube channel livestream? There are tons of tech-free ideas for outdoor and indoor games and activities in 100 Ways to Motivate Kids as well.
Another idea is re-enacting favorite outdoor movie scenes. Not exactly techy, but it does draw from pop culture. For example, the movie Hunger Games inspired some of my older daughter’s friends to do some survival training. They also decided to learn some old-fashioned combat skills. They used what they learned to re-enact movie scenes, but along the way, they spent a lot of time outdoors, too. So, sometimes nature for kids can be more of backdrop or setting for larger pursuits rather than an object of learning. But, it still gets them outdoors, right? And isn’t that part of the point?
