Though I did not grow up in an outdoorsy family, many of my childhood memories are predominantly of exploring and playing outside. As a parent, I see nature as inextricably linked with their wellbeing. This is especially true when it comes to matters of attention. For years, nature has been at the heart of my work, my parenting, and my own life, and I deeply believe it’s a huge piece of the puzzle for helping young people flourish in any world, let alone a post-social media, post-AI, post overparenting one.

And yet, as I parent three teens who were literally raised on outdoor play, I’m finding it hard to get them outside enough. School offers woefully little time outdoors. Kids get so busy with sports, activities, and relationships. Schoolwork mounts, and digital connection, games and media almost automatically slot into free time in between.

But here’s what I know from both the science and my own experience: big kids’ brains, bodies and spirits need the outdoors in ways that nothing else can replicate. The good news is, it doesn’t take as much as you might think.

What nature does to the brain and body

As an outdoor educator, I started paying close attention to attention when I noticed the almost magical impact that being in the natural world has on kids’ capacity to focus. Natural environments offer an incredible mix of stimulating, calming and liberating effects that make it so much easier — and more joyful — for kids to engage in whatever they’re doing.

A 2023 summary of research reviews found consistent support that increased exposure to nature is associated with a wide range of positive outcomes for kids, including physical activity, cognitive functioning, behavioral health and mental wellbeing. Studies also show that time in nature reduces stress and boosts mood — something the so-called “anxious generation” needs more than ever. At this point, the data is so clear that it almost feels too obvious to mention.

For decades, studies have largely supported Attention Restoration Theory, which proposes that spending time in natural settings, or even just viewing a picture of a natural scene, helps people recover from directed attention fatigue, the mental tiredness that builds up when we sustain deliberate focus over time. For most kids, that’s most of their day. Natural environments give the brain permission to shift into a softer, more effortless mode of attention, allowing limited attentional resources to replenish. These restorative effects can persist, making learning and focus easier long after kids come back inside.

Nature also awakens our sense of wonder. The awe you feel entering an expansive meadow, marveling at the fractals on a pine cone is, or even standing on an urban blacktop and staring up at the sky is, perhaps, the best kind of invitation to stop everything and just be. For teenagers, many of whom are tethered to a steady drip of external stimulation, that kind of reset is both rare and powerful. And, at a time in life when kids are hyper-focused on social feedback, the natural world offers something different. Animals, plants and open spaces provide a genuine sense of connection with greater ease than other humans sometimes can.

The problem, put plainly

It breaks my heart to see how, as most kids age, their opportunities to move and play freely diminish so dramatically.

Since the turn of the century, kids have lost 60 minutes of recess per week, on average. More than 75% of school districts lack any recess policy, and as of 2025, only about 10 states require it — and only for elementary students. By middle school, recess largely disappears and the day becomes a series of sitting still — or getting in trouble when you don’t. Health authorities including the WHO and CDC recommend that children get 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every day. Most kids are getting less than half that.

Outside of school, kids ages 8–12 spend an average of five and a half hours per day on screens. Teenagers clock over seven. Sedentary time increases by roughly 20 minutes per year as kids age, compounding quietly, year after year. The gap between what kids’ brains and bodies need and what they’re actually getting is real, and it’s widening.

But have no fear! It doesn’t take as much as you think

The benefits of outdoor time don’t require national parks or full days in the woods. A large-scale study found that just two hours per week outdoors is enough to start reaping meaningful health and wellbeing benefits. You can spread those minutes out however works — a few evenings, a weekend morning, a walk to or from school. The threshold is lower than most parents imagine. You don’t need to engineer a perfect nature experience. You just need to tip the scales a bit.

Bigger kids need a different kind of outdoor time

I’ve also come to realize that we can’t try to get tweens or teens outside using a model of outdoor play sized for younger kids. Older kids need their own kind of relationship with the outdoors. Here are a few ideas on what I’ve learned along this journey:

Start smooth. If more outdoor time lands as our idea, we all know how that tends to go. So, I’m trying to start small and let them get into a rhythm. I’m also trying to take a page from the anti-tobacco handbook and give my kids information and nurture a gentle sense of outrage. We know how important time outdoors is to kids, and yet schools and our lives don’t build it in. The unfairness is both important for them to understand and motivating.

I find my kids also respond when I frame nature time as a form of reward or self-care rather than another item on their/our to-do list.

Acknowledge what kids are already doing. If your family does engage in outdoor activities together, celebrate that. If your kids are already active in a sport, dance, martial arts or other active pastime(s) — celebrate that too. Once kids feel that what they love and already do is seen and respected, they’re more open to adding something new.

Try both ends of the spectrum. I’ve found it helpful to look at outdoor time in two different ways: real adventures and simply hanging outside.

On one end: adventures. Teenagers respond to novelty, challenge and the chance to prove something to themselves. A night walk, a new hiking trail, a skate park a few towns over, a fire pit or barbeque with friends — these tap into exactly what adolescence is wired for. Remember that nature exists anywhere there’s earth, sky and other species. You can find adventure in a city lot or just by taking the bus somewhere new. Adventures don’t need to be elaborate or expensive, but they do need to feel genuinely intriguing. A treat after never hurts (for my crew, it’s Dunkin’).

On the other end: simple permission to just be outside. Unstructured, low-key outdoor time is deeply underrated for teenagers. Many of us got copious amounts of it growing up — sitting on a porch, walking somewhere with a friend, hanging out in a backyard. The goal isn’t activity; it’s simply not being inside and not being alone.

You can also just start small: park a little farther from the store, pull over to look at a cool tree; take a short detour through a park. Notice when a neighbor is walking by or out in their yard and start up a quick conversation, then linger for a minute or two. No overselling. Just slowly tipping the balance, bit by bit.

A gentle invitation

If you’re the parent of a 10+ year old, you may feel like you’re losing this battle — that screens are winning, that schedules are winning, that the window is closing. It doesn’t have to.

Two hours a week. A walk. A few minutes of actual sky. An adventure that feels like their idea. Free time with friends in whatever version of the outdoors is accessible to you. Kids who spend time outside — even teenagers, even reluctant ones — come back a little calmer, a little clearer, a little more themselves.

That’s worth something. And just a few somethings can add up to a whole lot.

Tell us

How do your kids — or you — build in time outdoors? Let us know what you’re trying and what you’re learning.

We’ll keep learning and sharing, too. Asking questions about how schools can improve access to free time outside. Other questions about how to help kids learn to initiate, navigate and sustain time together in open, natural spaces—or any third spaces. Stay tuned! There’s so much we can do together!

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