Can your kids spend 1,000 hours outside?

On average, a child spends 1,200 hours a year attached to a screen: smart phone, tablet, TV, computer, etc. That amounts to about three and a half hours a day. That’s a lot of time not exploring their childhood… 

That’s where the 1,000 Hours Outside 2020 Challenge comes into play. 

Spending time outside, for people of any age, stimulates the brain. It contributes to childhood development. Spending time outside is unrestricted. The possibilities are endless. 

Another interesting fact: “Childhood” takes up 9.5 million minutes. So what we encourage children to do with those 9.5 million minutes is important. How will they spend their childhood? 

Yes, the weather right now is frigid, but that didn’t stop children in Monticello from getting outside to climb the piles of snow, go sledding at the popular spots in town, or lend a hand when it came to shoveling driveways and sidewalks. Right there, they spent some time outside rather than sit inside where it was nice and warm watching TV or glued to a screen. 

By visiting 1000hoursoutside.com, you can download a tracking sheet that allows you and your kids to track their 1,000 hours outside in 2020. 

One thousand hours over the course of 365 days is three hours a day. That’s it… Just three hours! It’s definitely a doable feat to help your children (and yourself) accomplish. 

If the idea of spending countless hours in front of a screen isn’t an issue, then it should be pretty easy to accomplish 1,000 hours outside. 

Growing up, my younger sister and I spent as many hours outdoors as we possibly could. We went swimming at the town pool, climbing in trees (where we built a simple tree house), riding our bikes, riding our bikes to Plumb Creek where we waded in the creek on hot summer days, went out to our family farm and ran around with our cousins, walked to the school playground (where I bravely climbed to the top of the monkey bars and was too afraid to climb back down). See, the possibilities are endless! 

And those childhood experiences outdoors as a child certainly impacted me today. I love being outside now as an adult. I enjoy reading outdoors when the weather is nice and enjoyable versus being cooped up inside. I love going on picnics outside. I love walking through gardens. In fact, a couple of my recent vacations took me to botanical gardens in Des Moines and Madison, Wis. 

So I urge moms, dads, grandparents, babysitters, childcare providers, youth organizers (4-H, library, etc.) to download the 1,000 Hours Outside tracking sheet and encourage children to GET OUTSIDE. 

Aside from downloading the sheet, you can also sign up for e-mail correspondence from the organization. You’ll receive encouraging content and ideas to help get those children outdoors. 

“If kids can consume media through screen 1,200 hours a year then the time is there and at least some of it can and should be shifted towards a more productive and healthy outcome.”