Why little? Because I have no experience incentivizing walks for big kids. I’ll revisit that in a few years.
In the meantime, I find myself trying to come up with creative ways to convince our five-year-old that yes, it is a good idea to go for a walk. It’s not that she has any problem with the outdoors, or dislikes walks as a rule. But when she only wants to swing, or draw with chalk, or doesn’t want to go out in the cold, or just needs a little boost to get going, sometimes I’ve got to think outside the box. (And yes, of course we let her swing and draw with chalk and all those other things. But walks are good for grown-ups, too!)
Difficulties with (my) little kids tend to occur very early in the walk (okay, basically just getting out the door) and sometime later during the last third or so. When the two-year-old was in a backpack carrier, the negotiations were limited to only one child, which helped. But now both kids are a bit big for that. So, here are some of the tricks that I have had success with.
Continue reading “Making walks fun for stubborn little kids”