Daily outdoor and nature time
How much time your child spends outdoors, from incidental to a daily habit in most weather to outdoor activity as a family identity.
How much time should our child spend outdoors?
In short: Parents choose between 4 main approaches: Incidental; Daily in most weather; Structured nature programs; Outdoors as a family identity. Evidence: your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide. Best settled: toddler.
Daily outdoor and nature time: what are the options?
Parents usually land on one of these 4 approaches.
1. Incidental
The child is outside when it happens to come up.
2. Daily in most weather
The child goes outside every day unless the weather is severe.
3. Structured nature programs
The child attends organized programs such as forest school or scouts.
4. Outdoors as a family identity
Hiking, camping and time outdoors are central to how your family lives.
Daily outdoor and nature time: what does the evidence say?
Your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide. (Values, with supportive guidance)
Canada's pediatric society endorses outdoor and risky play
Sources
What else is worth knowing?
Time outdoors gives children movement, daylight and room for active play. Some families treat it as a daily habit in any weather; for others it is occasional. Where you live shapes what is easy.
Questions to ask each other
- How outdoorsy were our childhoods, and how outdoorsy are we now?
- What would daily outdoor time look like in our weather and neighborhood?
- How will we make it happen when we are busy?
More in Play, activities and enrichment
First published 2026-10-03. Last updated 2026-10-05. General information, not medical advice.