Health: A Breath of Fresh Air

A breath of fresh air is good for both child and parent!

I highly recommend getting outside once a day
as a daily ritual and commitment.

I realize there are a lot of deterrents to daily outdoor time: time, weather, inconvenience, multiple children, etc... I am offering to you that the benefits will be worth it. We can all take five minutes out of our day, or thirty for that matter, to do something as simple as going for a walk or sitting outside in the fresh air.

Of course the benefits to parent are pretty well known but please indulge me as a I list them again:

1. Vitamin D exposure (sunlight) increases your mood and is preventative of depression.

2. Getting outdoors increases chances of getting exercise. And any exercise, even a five minute walk a day, is good for our health.

3. When we can take a couple minutes a day to do something as relaxing as being outdoors our stress levels improve.

4. Getting outdoors increases amounts of quality family time which makes happier more well-adjusted families.

If that isn't reason enough to get outdoors consider the benefits for your baby or child that are in addition to what is listed above:

1. Getting sunlight during the day improves night time sleep.

2. Getting outdoors helps prevent colic.

3. Helps treat and prevent ADHD.

4. Preventative of obesity.

5. Sunlight exposure raises levels of Vitamin D which prevents cancer and builds strong bones.

6. Helps improve eyesight.

7. Makes for a more creative child.


So get outdoors!

1. Go for a daily walk!

2. Garden (you can babywear or have your child help out).

3. Sit on your porch and play a board game or people-watch.

4. Sit in the park!

5. Engage in an outdoor activity: go fishing, play sports, go for a hike.


Make this a commitment. Schedule it in if you need to. Then once you do let us know how your life has improved by having your daily dose of fresh air.



Note: All health claims are linked to an article. Not all articles are research-based but they do appeal to the common sense. I also believe with a little time we could find some research based articles to back up most, if not all, of these claims.