Outdoors Fun Is Always The Best - Enjoying Life's Little Adventures

**Paid partnership with Savlon’s Advanced Healing Gel**

I’ve written many posts here over the years showing just how much fun we have outdoors as a family. We always say “There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing”.

We take every opportunity to head outdoors to have fun as a family. With warm coats, welly boots, hats, gloves and scarves there are always fallen leaves to play in – I just love this time of year for piling up fallen leaves and jumping in them with the kids. There are trees to climb and so many little adventures to be had, and you can even enjoy the beach in colder weather too – there’s no swimming of course but you can still build a sandcastle or toast marshmallows over a mini fire.

It does seem that not all parents feel this way. According to a new survey by Savlon Advanced Healing Gel, modern parents are more cautious than ever before about their children playing outdoors.
Despite agreeing that outdoor play is important for children’s development (94%) and that minor scrapes are an important part of growing up (94%), modern mums and dads express worry about letting their children enjoy traditional outdoor past times such as splashing in puddles and picking berries, with 2/3 of parents believing that indoor play is safer for their child than outdoor play.
The survey also found that 2/3 of parents feel that their child spends too much time playing on devices and another 2/3 of families spend most of their time indoors. Whilst it’s natural for parents to want to keep their children safe and protected, this fear of the outdoors coupled with the lure of technology means that children aren’t experiencing the excitement of outdoor play in a way that their parents once did.

I remember being outdoors loads as a child – we would play out with all the other children in the street, riding our bikes in the street and around the green in the adjoining road (I lived in a little cul-de-sac so we knew there wouldn’t be cars driving done the road often, unless you lived there then there was no reason to be driving in that road), we would take our balls and skipping ropes into the street and play kerby with a football.

Playing out isn’t as safe for our children nowadays with far more dangers, traffic and other things which make us parents want to wrap the kids in cotton wall – but that’s not to say they can’t still have fun outdoors.

Savlon Advanced Healing Gel has been treating bumps and scrapes in our households for over 50 years. As a child, I always remember my Mum reaching for the Savlon Advanced Healing Gel to treat my grazed knees and hands whenever I tripped or fell, and it is still a part of my first aid kit at home.

Savlon Advanced Healing Gel has launched their Skin is for Living in campaign which aims to encourage families to get outside and play more while also educating and giving them the confidence to treat those minor bumps or scrapes along the way.

Campaign expert Will Copestake says:

“There is enormous value in giving children the freedom to roam and discover things first hand. It’s really important for children to discover certain risks and dangers for themselves rather than just being warned of them by an adult. Children very quickly bounce back from mishaps and heal well. It’s important for parents to remember that there’s nothing wrong with getting a few cuts and bruises and scrapes!”

This is very true indeed, children live life to the fullest by experiencing these little adventures themselves. They will never learn how to get down from a tree if we never allow them to climb it in the first place.

I have two tree climbers – they just love it, give them something climbable and they will be near the top within moments, sometimes climbing far higher than my nerves would like but they just love it, and yes occasionally there have been scrapes and bumps but that’s all part of a happy childhood isn’t it. It’s certainly never put them off climbing up again and I carry plasters and Savlon Advanced Healing Gel so I can confidently deal with those little scraps.