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Taking a walk with kids is something we could all become well-versed in right now. Facing the inability to go to the playground means that we have a rare opportunity to really find ways to immerse ourselves in nature with our children.
I know full well that this is not always easy. We have had a long-standing morning routine of getting outside first thing after breakfast. Two mornings per week my kids go to nature school. So, the other mornings I take all 3 kids outside (5,3, and 6 months) and the other mornings I take just the baby. But for now I will take all 3 kids out all 5 mornings.
This morning I was tired. We have kept most of the information about this virus from our kids and just given them a simple explanation that “there is more sickness in the world than usual so we can’t go to school, the library or the park.” But they sense something. Both my girls have had insomnia during the night for the past few and I am tired today. Night wakings from 3 at once can get exhausting.
So, I was tired and I really didn’t feel like motivating them to go on a walk, which was the most accessible thing to do today. Luckily for me it is a routine, which makes it come a little easier, and I know full well that the entire day will be better when we spend the first part of the day outside.
There are a few reasons it makes everything better.
​Before we had kids, my husband and I loved to hike together and now we still love to be outside to walk and hike as a family. Yes, there are challenges, and yes, it's different from hiking just as two adults.
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However, hiking and taking walks with small children can be really fun. Here are some of the things we've learned to help us enjoy these times outside being active with our kids.

I know what you might be thinking: "That sounds difficult and frustrating, and you will not get anywhere!"
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We had times where we felt like that too. Then we asked ourselves a simple question:

"Why do we like walking and hiking?"

When you ask yourself this question, some obvious answers could be:

• Getting exercise
• Being outside and in nature
• Discovering something new or beautiful
• Getting the chance to talk with friends or spouse
• Regulating sleep cycles

There are many more benefits, as outlined in this article.

​It turns out that we can accomplish all of the above points with our children. Especially with the discovery of something new or beautiful, children actually enrich the experience. Kids discover things all the time. By slowing the whole process down, you are more likely to find and take the time to rescue the lonely turtle out of a puddle.
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Even the *getting exercise* part can be enriched, as you will add different movements to your walk by...

• Bending down to inspect flowers or insects,
• Walking off the path,
• Carrying your toddler
• Looking up into the sky to watch a flock of birds
• Practicing any stretch/strength moves such as some squats while the kids pick flowers, a calf stretch on a rock while they are catching up, or a single leg balance while you wait to cross the street. (Check out the deck of Mama Moves Cards for more ideas! The cards and online course are on sale through school closure time for 30% off using coupon code MOVEWITHKIDS)

..Well, we noticed that on a hike, we would often come to a place and say things like, "I want to walk the long five-mile trail today," or, "Let's go to the top and back."

So, we were setting goals to pursue for our hike that turned out to be fulfilling in the past, i.e., before we had children... And guess what?

It does not work with young children (yet).

Hiking as a family means having different considerations. You can push yourself, but you have to make sure not to push your little one over the edge into being cold, tired, hungry, or feeling like they have nothing to do but just go along with whatever mom or dad are doing.

Sometimes engaging them is as simple as: "Look at this stick over there! How does it feel when you hold it? What sounds does it make when I tap it on the ground?" One wintery hike we asked dour kids to help us gather evergreen boughs and "sweep" the path. That worked wonders and we hiked about two miles, even with two toddlers! 

Kids know that there is an entire world to explore when walking and hiking. Well, it took us adults some time not to feel we were missing out on our hikes, until we realized that although our personal "goals" are very different from our children's during hikes, we do not have to miss out.
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See, whatever happens, we are in nature, we are exercising, we are discovering, and we do spend time with each other.

​If we want to set a quantifiable goal for a hike, we now set a minimum duration in hours, not miles. Instead of focusing on hiking to a certain point or distance, we focus on being together, exploring, and paying attention to what our girls need. This gives the flexibility to stop for long times, yet often we can still get very far.

I get it. Four hours spent in nature with a whining child ten feet away from the starting point, is not cool. My honest answer is that I don't know how to avoid it completely, but we are getting smarter over time and learning what works for our kids. Some walks will be harder, and some easier just as every day with children can look really different. Over time, when walks become a habit, they WILL grow and it WILL get easier. Many people I have talked to expect their kids to complain on walks. But when I ask them how frequently they walk with their kids, the answer is "occasionally." which typically means less than every week. When kids get accustomed to good, relaxed times being spent on walks they will look forward to it and accept it as a normal part of life. My kids complain if we ever have to go in the car because their "normal" is biking or walking. 
You mileage will vary of course, as you figure out what works and doesn't for your kids, but here is an excerpt of what we have learned so far:
Most important: 

• Bring lots and lots of snacks and food, and take long breaks to eat.
• Bring enough clothes so you do not get cold.

If they are unmotivated to walk, you can give them tasks during the walk:

• Can you carry this big stick for me?
• Can you find a purple flower blooming already?
• Do you want to carry this lunch bag?
• Do you want to hold hands with you sister/brother?

Kids love to have tasks and help out. For example, taking kids out to gather something works really well too:

• Let’s find things to make a fairy house at home! (Sticks, bark, flowers, leaves, lichens, etc.)
• See the apple tree at the top of this hill? Let's hike to it so we can pick apples!
• Can you find the dandelions? Let’s pick a bouquet!
• Can you look for the blackberries we are going to pick?

Be prepared to carry your child for periods of time if (s)he is tired. This one really is a win-win if approached with a certain mindset. You can get really strong from carrying children if you are mindful of your alignment and carry them in a variety of positions:

• Try side carry keeping your spine stacked, or a piggy-back where you ask them to help hold on with their arms (older kids), or on the shoulders.
• All of the times carrying kids will enhance your core, arm, hand, leg and foot strength.
• It can be a really fun connection with kids.
• Wearing a baby carrier can be a nice tool too.

Play some silly games, or make up some silly songs while walking.

• I am going to hide, can you find me?
• Chase me!
• Can you walk like a frog? A bear?
• Can you make a sound like that bird?
• Want to play “I Spy?”
• Make up your own games/songs stories! I mentioned the "sweep the path" directive above and lately we have also been playing a game we made up one day called "I wish I could see." We were 1/2 block from home when the 3-year-old started seriously dragging and I really had to pee. TO keep her moving I said "I wish I could see a clown fish perched on top of a tree!" They picked it up and started saying all kinds of silly combinations of things they wish they could see.. ("I wish I could see a horse on that porch. I wish I could see a pig carrying a teapot...")

It can also really help to take friends along on a walk. More adults mean more people to carry the kids, make up games, and bring fresh ideas. Friends for the kids are almost always motivating for each other. If you invite a friend or two it also stacks in #vitamincommunity with your walk... (Not right now, huh? This was written a couple years ago. Right now I opt for family walks and occasional one-on-one walks with a friends, staying several feet apart.)

If your child is having a hard time...
One of the things I try to remember is that I am always less stressed outside and it can be a great place to give some space for little ones to feel and process through emotions. When they are having feelings, I try to stay centered myself in order to give them patience and give myself calm. I take deep breaths, I try to feel my own body and remember that it is not my job to "fix" their feelings but rather that the ability to feel our emotions and process them is an asset to our own humanity. We are likely all feeling A LOT these days and so are the little ones. 

• Take a break and find out what they are feeling.
• Ask where they feel this emotion in their body? (This works with our 5 year old and sometimes with the younger one. In general you can just be there for them to support their feelings and that works too.)
• Talk about what you see, hear, have picked up, etc.
• Ask if there's something scaring the child, especially if being outside is not part of your normal routine. 
• Try to get to where you can continue on a little more. If the child is fed, hydrated, not cold, etc., then can often recover quickly.

No matter what though, it's okay to turn back too. Sometimes a hike might get cut short. The trail will still be there next time.

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​When I walk, I see how much plastic washes up on the banks of of a river and am reminded of my commitment to keep supporting political movements which decrease our reliance on plastic as well as my own commitment to reduce my consumption of disposable (and recyclable) items.
When I walk, I meet the city’s homeless population and have a much more direct and personal interaction with some of our most vulnerable citizens. It is all-too-easy to avoid eye-contact when I am driving. When I repeatedly see some of these folks, I remember to carry dry socks, or a gift certificate to a local food store. I remember to support agendas which provide better housing options. I remember that homelessness is a social justice issue, that there is a disparity in fairness within our society.
As I walk I see what’s going on in my neighborhood. I experience how walkable our community is or  isn’t. I see where we might need another crosswalk by that playground, especially for folks in wheelchairs and when I walk I am much more liable to write to my city about these issues. I remember to donate money to causes which uphold the standard of care for our vulnerable citizens. It’s movement (some would say exercise) but it’s actually so much more than that.
Walking gives us an opportunity to have face-to-face contact with people in our community. We run into people and establish simple connections we would miss in a car. Today I walked by a neighbor's house and discovered that it is the home of one of my daughter's schoolmates. The parents and I chatted a bit about our kids, I was invited to a potluck next door to their house and we made some tentative playdates for us and the kids. So much fun! We find that we have many random, beneficial and informal interactions when we bike or walk. 

We recently got a bike which can hold both kids. If I am going to walk or jump on the bike with my two kids and I have to use my own body to get there, I will only do it when I feel up to spending the energy it takes to travel there. If I lazily climb into my car, I car quite easily do too many things and stretch myself beyond my own and my children’s capacity. Thus, our choice of transport self-regulates our actions. Things are a little different when we have to be somewhere at a specific time, but I have noticed a positive overall effect.

 Walking through wild lands lets me experience the calming effect these places have, and experience how me and my children learn from being in undeveloped nature. When I experience this and see what richness it gives to my children, I remember that I want to support the political causes which protect undeveloped land and the environment.
To add to all of this, my choice to walk as much as possible decreases my family’s reliance on the oil industry which could be another  lengthy article in and of itself. Reducing our reliance on oil is a huge priority for our family because of the impact on global politics, the environment and humanitarian issues. ​

When walking with young kids, I have to walk with not much agenda, and therefore need to go out with the openness to see what happens in order to go at their pace. My 11-month-old has been walking for 3 months now and she recently started being able to walk with us on walks little bits at a time. It’s pretty thrilling. What’s even more exciting is seeing things through both of my kids’ eyes. I think that when my first daughter was little I had such a hard time slowing down and letting go of the desire to keep walking and get somewhere, that I often spent my walks lamenting the slow pace, trying to entice her along and missed out on some of the wonder. Now with my second child, I am still learning to relax but I have learned that the walks with my kids offer a different opportunity than a solo walk. I try to structure in my own time to get faster paced walks a few times a week. That helps me slow down and see what my kids find. Our lives have become so fast paced I welcome the opportunity to slow down. 

Today I walked with just the little one. We encountered so much wonder on our walk! Last year I walked around looking for the first signs of spring with her in my belly, waiting out the last few weeks of pregnancy while taking lots of walks and noticing the build of spring: the first snowbells, violets and crocuses which then led into blooming trees, budding leaves and daffodils a few days after her birth. This year I get to share these things with her. I can hardly believe this year has flown by so quickly and just revel in the moments when I show her things. Today we saw the first plum blossoms, many growing daffodil stems and a magnificent flock of geese. It’s amazing as a parent to watch someone so young discover, for the first time, the wonder of watching a flock of geese fly in formation. We heard the sound before we spotted them and when she saw them her face completely lit up with amazement and surprise. She followed them through the sky with her gaze while making tiny coos, baby words and chuckles.

All the of the above stated reasons are the things I want to teach my children. I walk with them too because I want us all to stay healthy, but even more than that I want them to see the community, understand what is going on around us, see that there are vulnerable lands and people in our city which desperately need our support. I walk because I want to be here, taking care of this city and this world with all of you.

​My recent post about hydration stations got me thinking. Water is great, water is essential... but sometimes you want to drink something other than water.
​Plus, I don't know about you, but sleep deprivation tends to send me on sugar binges. Which cause wild mood swings for me, and just bad times in general.
I got to thinking: what would be a simple but tasty drink that mamas could knock together quickly and enjoy? And this is what I came up with:

You can sip this nourishing and delicious tea throughout the day. I've found that it's also helpful for keeping me hydrated enough for breastfeeding:
In a quart jar (such as a canning/mason jar), add one quart boiling water to:

• 1 star anise
• Slice of fresh ginger
• 1 tsp. hibiscus
• Some fragments of a cinnamon stick
• Honey to taste

Steep 20–30 minutes.
Strain into a mug and enjoy!

Since becoming a mom, it has been more challenging than ever to stay hydrated. Between nursing a baby and playing with (or chasing after) a toddler, I can easily find myself forgetting to drink enough water.

You know as well as I do that staying hydrated is essential to wellness. That's especially important during the summertime, when lots of sunlight and higher temperatures make our bodies need hydration more than ever.
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How am I reminding myself to stop and get something to drink? A while back, I started a new strategy that is helping me win the hydration game.

​I started leaving jars of water around the house in a few locations. You can use water bottles, canning jars, whatever you have that closes securely). Leave them wherever works for you: a bathroom shelf, on your bedroom dresser, the kitchen table, by your desk, etc.

Breastfeeding a newborn, (sometimes) a toddler, and also pumping milk to donate to a newborn in need of milk takes a lot of hydration. With my hydration stations, by the end of the day this thirsty mama has been downing 3–4 quarts of water. I've been feeling a lot better—and I bet you will too.
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Bonus: My hydration stations have also inspired me to make "movement stations" around the house! In addition to stashing a jar of water, I'll tape up a Mama Moves Card. While I'm getting a drink, I'll take a moment and do some movement too.