4.6 • 3.2K Ratings
🗓️ 19 June 2023
⏱️ 33 minutes
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Pre-order my new book HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILD CLEAN UP THEIR MENTAL MESS here: https://www.mentallyresilientkids.com/
+Pre-order before August 8 to get access to bonus content!
SHOW DESCRIPTION: In this podcast I talk about something great you can do with your children this summer: getting outside! This is part of my summer series on brain-building activities you can do with your children to help them build up their mental resilience and manage their mental health while having fun.
We all know that getting outside is great for our mental wellbeing. Just think of how you feel when you go for a walk in the sunshine or spend time reading at the beach. Nature has a way of calming us down mentally and physically.
The same is true for our children. Playing outside is one of the best things they can do to boost their mental and physical wellbeing. This may seem obvious, but consider that the average American child spends 4-7 minutes a day in unstructured play outdoors and over 7 hours in front of a screen. This is a cause for concern, as research shows that that children should play outside for around 2-3 hours, or at minimum 20 minutes, a day for optimal mental and physical development. As much as modern technology has improved our lives, it should not replace the act of enjoying the outdoors and what nature has to offer.
Read the blog here: https://drleaf.com/blogs/news/one-surprising-thing-that-will-help-improve-your-child-s-attention-focus
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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
0:37 Children don’t spend enough time outside
1:40 Why we should all be spending more time outdoors
5:00 How getting outside can improve attention & focus
8:40, 20:40 The many mental & physical benefits of getting outside
10:30 How getting outside can help children perform better at school
13:00, 22:20 Ways to encourage your children to get outside & improve their mental wellbeing
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
-Get my new book Cleaning up Your Mental Mess here: https://www.cleaningupyourmentalmess.com
-Get a free Cleaning up Your Mental Mess workbook when you subscribe to my weekly email at drleaf.com!
- Visit my website at https://drleaf.com for more free resources
-Instagram: @drcarolineleaf: https://www.instagram.com/drcarolineleaf/-
-Facebook: Dr. Caroline Leaf: https://www.facebook.com/drleaf
-Twitter: @drcarolineleaf: https://twitter.com/DrCarolineLeaf
-Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/drcarolineleaf
*DISCLAIMER: This podcast and blog are for educational purposes only and are not intended as medical advice. We always encourage each person to make the decision that seems best for their situation with the guidance of a medical professional.
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
0:00.0 | Hi, I'm Dr. Caroline Leith and welcome to my podcast, Cleaning Up the Mental Mass. |
0:09.2 | Today I'm continuing a series on what to do with your kids over summer to keep them mentally |
0:13.9 | healthy and to keep yourself mentally healthy and to improve your resilience. |
0:18.9 | And today I'm going to be talking about something that's very logical that I know that you |
0:23.2 | know about but I'm just really want to stress this and give you some more tips and research |
0:27.1 | behind spending time after doors. |
0:34.0 | Well, we don't spend enough time outdoors. |
0:36.6 | The average, I've got the stats right here, the average American child spends 4 to 7 minutes |
0:42.9 | a day in unstructured play outdoors and over 7 hours in front of a screen. |
0:49.5 | Okay, so that's, I have to say that again, seriously. |
0:52.9 | The average American child spends 4 to 7 minutes a day in unstructured play outdoors, |
1:00.1 | but over 7 hours in front of a screen during the day, in any one day. |
1:06.4 | So 4 to 7 minutes versus 7 hours. |
1:10.6 | I mean, that is definitely not healthy and that's definitely there's all kinds of research. |
1:16.0 | So showing that it's definitely contributing to mental health issues. |
1:19.3 | There's so many causes contributing to mental health issues, but this is one major cause |
1:24.4 | and that we can really, it's an easy thing to fix. |
1:27.5 | And in addition to that to help you, I have my new book coming after just to help you |
1:31.8 | as parents help your children with their mental health. |
1:34.4 | And it's filled with all kinds of ideas that you could do outdoors and indoors to help |
1:39.6 | you help your child manage their mental health. |
1:41.4 | So it's called to help your child clean up their mental mass, a guy to building resilience |
... |
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