Giving Children The Gift Of The Great Outdoors

By Deborah Locke, Communications Specialist, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Five times each week, Maxwell Kelsey of Bemidji visits family-friendly Lake Bemidji State Park. He may be alone on a bicycle, or with his two children, ages 11 and 6.

They find the magic oak tree with the hole in it, walk through the woods, go on the board walk, play at the playground, check out the ash trees in the swamp, note the white pines on the sand hill, and identify birds. Throughout the year, Max looks for “micro adventures” with his children, like using a remote-control car on the frozen lake or on summer beach, cross-country skiing the trails, biking, or swimming. In the life of this family, the park is a giant gym/classroom where wonder and curiosity get full play.

That’s exactly what doctors prescribe these days. Since the onset of excessive screen time by both adults and children, medical personnel have stepped up with suggestions that children spend more time at play in general, and especially outdoor play. That means any of your 73 Minnesota state parks and trails can serve as both a source of healthy entertainment and movement.

A 2018 American Academy of Pediatrics study, “The Power of Play,” concludes that play is anything but frivolous. Pre-school children who are actively engaged while discovering the world around them learn social skills, listen to directions effectively, pay attention, solve disputes with words, and learn to focus on tasks without constant supervision. In addition, outdoor activity helps reduce obesity. As for the impact of even short outdoor activities, it’s found that children who have longer recess periods during the school year have more academic success as they mature than those with short or no recess periods.

So maybe you are thinking, fine, I’d like to get my kids outside more, but where can we go and what can we do? Many state parks feature natural playground areas like the one at Lake Bemidji State Park. Visiting children spend a lot of time climbing the logs at the nature play area next to the playground, said Shannon Bungart, assistant park supervisor. Also popular with children is the park’s interpretive center, beach, and trails where families ride their bikes. At Lake Bemidji State Park, Max Kelsey and children cross-country ski in the winter. “Skiing is big,” he said, and screen viewing is left behind.

“In the spring, we look forward to the bog walk and seeing the Lady’s Slippers and other fantastic orchids,” he said, lamenting that sometimes he is the only park visitor on a trail. “We have cardiovascular health issues in this country,” he said. “Breathing fresh air on the trails or on a river is a way to take a path to better health.” (To see the amenities at a park, see www.mndnr.gov/parkfinder for a park listing.)

Here’s another way to engage children in play: consider a naturalist-run program that entertains and teaches hands-on skills. This fall, children can learn to identify animal tracks, identify night forest sounds, look for snakes, take a photography scavenger hunt and more. For a list of activities, go to www.mndnr.gov/ptcalendar. Most programs are free. In some instances, pre-registration is required.

In some families, playing at parks and support for them is a generational tradition. Pamela Kelsey, Max’s mom, serves on the Friends of Lake Bemidji State Park board. She said a park nearby is a gift, and that most people can’t afford a cabin. But they can certainly enjoy water, trails, trees, birds and wildlife at a state park. She said that when she stands in a grove of super tall trees and looks up, she breathes in  deeply, and is transported to a “beautiful place where your heart and mind are at peace.”

While the adults may experience a visceral reaction to the beauty of nature, Max’s kids just know that Dad is enthusiastic about going to the park and that’s all they have ever known “We’ve been going there for so long that it’s a natural option for our day,” he said. “It would be weird for them if we didn’t go to the park.”