Outside Benefits

October 25th was “Take Me Outside” day in Canada, which sounds rather pet oriented, but is actually meant to celebrate being outside. Colin Harris, head of the non-profit group that promoted Take Me Outside Day says that “a connection to nature and time spent outside is invaluable to building optimal mental, emotional, social, and physical health for every child”. I couldn’t have said it better myself. It is a common sense, simplistic approach to addressing the problem of childhood obesity. Scientific studies concur with this, and have reported that children who spend more time outside do have improved physical activity levels, tend to do better on an academic level, and have better social skills. This whole “take me outside” idea has an added bonus, it also gets parents more involved with their children while spending time together outdoors, and parents can benefit on just as many levels - they’re with their children, enjoying nature, while hopefully getting some much needed exercise themselves. Sounds like we here in the states should adopt “Take Me Outside Day” as well. In fact, this is an idea that should probably be committed to on an international level.