3 Tips For Getting Outdoors as a Family This Summer
Over 572,000 people pledged to spend time as a family outdoors on May 21 for National Park Trust‘s National Kids to Park Day. This special day in May was created by National Park Trust, whose mission is to preserve parks today and create park stewards for tomorrow, as a way for parents and kids to learn more about their nearby parks. I took Savannah to the park since we weren’t able to visit a national park that day, and it was amazing. There’s something about unplugging and breathing in fresh air and the natural surroundings around where you live — It’s good for your eyes, parent-child relationship, and spirit. It’s just not that easy to actually get out and going with the family, though, right? Well, I may not have all the answers but I do have 3 tips for getting outdoors with your family this Summer (and a pretty awesome baby carrier giveaway). Keep reading for more info!
Savvy Every Day was provided with a BABYBJÖRN Baby Carrier One Outdoors to facilitate this review. This is not a sponsored post, all reviews are mine alone.
PLAN IT OUT
Make the time to go out and explore a nearby national park one weekend or random weekday (if you have one off work). Look up all the details and set a date ahead of time. This not only gives your kids/ family time to mentally prepare but for you to plan out activities. National Park Trust has oodles of tips and resources on their website, as well as a Buddy Bison coloring page (here). You can even choose your state and find all parks and park events nearest you using their Find Your Park/Event tool (here), which is super handy when planning where you want to go and what you want to do. It’s easier to stick to a plan than attempt to throw something together last-minute when you finally have the time to go somewhere. Kids in fourth grade get free admission to a lot of National Parks and there are also different free days at some localized parks so those are a few more things to plan for if you don’t have the cash. Even just making a promise to yourself that you will take the kids to a nearby playground for 15 minutes a day between work and dinner is huge.
CARRY THE KIDDO
Kids love going outdoors, but don’t always have the energy to walk an entire [enter miles here] of hiking trail, so some sort of kiddo carry is necessary. Trust me, this will make your trips to the outdoors SO much easier. BABYBJÖRN has partnered with National Park Trust, through its Buddy Bison school program and its annual Kids to Parks Day to share their new Baby Carrier One Outdoors carrier and how it can help make outdoor trips easier. I was sent one to test out and was super excited to share a new type of carrier with you. S is 5 and the Baby Carrier One Outdoors carrier is for littles 0-3 years so I couldn’t test it out with her and called a neighboring mama with a 9-month-old for help with this review.
All carriers are not the same — It’s very important to note that — so not all carriers fit your body type or click together on you the same. This one didn’t go on like the others myself and my friend are used to and took us a few minutes to get the hang of it at first because I wanted her to try putting it on solo. It’s super simple to put on if you have a partner there to help you and I recommend doing that a few times before you attempt a solo wear with a kiddo under 1. Once on, my friend was amazed at how comfortable it was, and how well supported she felt. She told me that she felt like there was a great amount of reinforcement in the carry, allowing her to feel confident in the safety of her daughter while in it. Within about 5 minutes of walking around in the carrier her daughter was asleep (super cute)!
We both love that this carrier comes with a side pocket, too, because neither of us care for when pockets are on the panel of a carrier where the kiddo’s back is —It makes it hard to get to things without disturbing the kiddo and can make them extra sweaty. With this handy side pocket she could put her phone or whatever in there and get to it easily. The pocket even has a key hook! We hooked on a cute little Buddy Bison the National Park Trust sent (you take him on trips with you to parks and take pics) and also tried the keys. The other feature we both really love about this carrier is that you can pull down the head support for older kiddos, or those that want to see everything (Baby Carrier One Outdoors carrier can be worn on the front or back and is a hip-healthy carrier). BONUS: You can try it out for yourself by entering to win one below!
PRE-PACK
It’s easy to come up with a lot of excuses for not making it outside between work, errands, dinner and then a looming bedtime, but making it easy to get outside makes it simple. Keep a pre-packed bag in your car with sunscreen, kiddo carrier, beach toys, kites, soccer balls, water bottles and any other items you may need for a trip to the great outdoors as a family in case you’re able to make it work. If you followed tip 1 and planned out your trip, be sure to pack some lightweight healthy foods like sandwiches, water, fruit, freeze dried yogurt drops (a toddler fave), and trail mix to snack on.
BABYBJÖRN Baby Carrier ONE Outdoors
RULES: Open to U.S. Residents ages 18 years and older. Must complete all required entries from real accounts (not fake ones made to enter giveaways). Winner will be notified on June 6 via email and have 24 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.
