The Benefits of Mini-Adventures with Kids

If you’ve been following along, or just discovered my blog, you might be wondering what the point of these ‘mini-adventures’ is.

I’ve written about how our mini-adventures began, as a way to spend time with my wild three-year-old doing something we both liked doing. Since then, I’ve been surprised by the benefits we’ve experienced:

15 benefits of mini-adventures with kids

Health – it’s active, it’s outdoors in nature, it’s good for our health. It’s good for using up the kids’ energy, helping them develop physical skills (e.g. balance, coordination, motor skills), healthy hormones (not stimulating their senses with artificial lighting), healthy immune systems, and helping provide a natural buffer to the stimulation of school environments (the calming, softening effect that trees, soil, water etc have on our minds).
Helps us to see nature differently, to engage and interact with it more. They’re developing a love and appreciation for nature which is based on a personal relationship with it, rather than something they’ve been told to do.
Opportunity for bonding. I get to talk to my kids so much more when we are out exploring than any other time. We get to play and share time together, making memories and building relationships.
Brings back memories of my own childhood, often things I’d forgotten. This nostalgia is a delight to experience, and I’m so grateful for the memories I’ve rediscovered.
Great for connecting with others, asking advice on where to go or looking for inspiration. We’ve connected with other families over their tips for local spots, or for getting kids into hiking, etc.
Helps us all grow in confidence and resilience, as everything that happens is an opportunity to finetune our attitudes.
Getting to know our local area better and discovering new favourite places.
Low budget (you don’t need to buy anything), often free (besides snacks if you want those!) PLUS these mini-adventures mean we take advantage of public areas, rather than buying more toys or needing a bigger backyard.
Low planning and preparation. That’s my definition of easy!
Low time commitment, so it’s easy to fit into normal life, unlike bigger adventures.
It’s fun. Sometimes. But it’s always worthwhile.
Practise, practise, practise for bigger adventures – for the kids and the parents. Every time we mini-adventure, we are getting better at bigger adventures too.
Helps us feel alive and unhurried – it breaks up the pick ups, drop offs, rushing here and there, kids birthday parties, extra-curricular activities, work, etc. Basically, mini-adventures help us to feel more present and slow, breathing in fresh air and noticing the world around us. Often in natural areas, like national parks, we feel a world away from the hecticness of life – and that’s the best reboot for our souls.
There are so many learning opportunities! Kids ask questions all the time - why is it like that, why does that happen, why do animals do that, how did that get there, what will happen to this etc etc. They notice patterns and colours and creative opportunities. They’re asking questions about species, life cycles, geography and more, and these are all great ways to further our learning.
We are excited to spend time together.

I never expected to love mini-adventures so much. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not always amazing in the moment and sometimes they don’t work out. But it’s always worth trying, because even when things go wrong we are still reaping many of the benefits listed above.