Whats Best: Staying Home or Taking your Kids Out?

There seems to be a new uprising around the prevention of being “too busy,” as a parent and for your kids. There is this notion that “home days” are “good days,” so whats best: Staying home or taking your kids out?  Obviously, it all depends on the day, life situation and amount of coffee you’ve had, but generally speaking, what’s best?

Little Adventures Company – © Christopher Kimmel

 

Home Days

Regardless of whether or not your a full time mom, stay at home mom, or split between the two, chances are your always trying to catch up on household chores. For me, household chores get me every single time. A soon as that sun hits those floors, and shines a light onto spilt yogurt from last week, I am consumed by cleaning. As I clean, my kids beg for my attention through non-stop fighting, and/or spilling more yogurt. Through the consumption of cleaning, and/or other household Pinterest daily’s, I am quite disengaged with my kids at home. My usual engagement with them at home, is making them do chores!

 

Safe Haven

Home, however, can be a safe haven. There are many days were pyjamas all day, are a must. There are days when you just cant bare to expose yourself or your wild children to the world and would rather watch paw patrol on netflix and eat sour dinos with your kids.

 

Your kids nap time is certainly one of the top ten reasons to stay home. Naps are special “mom moments,” where you can finally get the last bit of yogurt off the floor, or just finish those sour dinos!

Then, there are those days where you have good intentions to get out of the house, but your kids won’t allow for it. Its almost more effort to pack them up and convince them to put socks on, then it is to stay home and deal with the fighting.

Adult Time

We can all agree that parenthood can feel isolating at times, and as parents, we crave some adult conversations. Play dates at home are fun, but that means you kind of have to tidy the house so its presentable. Making plans to take your kids out of the house, encourages you to maybe change out of those pjs and let go of the household chores.

Saving Money

My decision to stay home, or take my kids out always has to do with saving money. Staying home encourages you to drink your own coffee, and force your kids to play with the billions of toys they already have, instead of buying a new one.

Outdoor adventures is our go to when we choose to take the kids outside instead of stay home. If you live close to green-belts, parks and trails, you can save even more money, and just pack the kids in the stroller and walk! Taking the kids out, doesn’t have to be complicated and can be affordable and enjoyable.

 

#momlife #outdoorliving #balance #simpleliving #choices #parenting
Whats best: Staying home or taking your kids out?

Being Present

Taking the kids out instead of staying home, encourages me to engage with my kids, and be more present. When I’m home,  I feel distracted, but when we are actively engaged in an activity, this allows me to connect with my kids.

 

Certainly, there are ways you can engage with your kids through baking, backyard activities and games when you stay home. Choosing to take your kids out, or stay home depends on you’re comfort level as a parent and your child’s temperament and age.

For us, we have discovered that outdoor adventures relieve us. The kids can run wild outside, and we can breath in that fresh air and focus on the moment instead of the messy house. After an outdoor adventure, we appreciate our home a lot more, and feel a bit more relaxed when we get back home.

Finding new waterfalls is also a good reason to take your kids out, too. 😉

Like everything in parenthood, there are pros and cons to staying home and taking your kids out. There are moments to be cherished in the home, and memories to be made outside of the home.

Check out ourOutdoor Living With kids,” facebook page to connect with other parents who want to do an outdoor adventure, too!

 

Happy Adventuring,

Sheena xo