S/O. Are your toddlers and babies outside three hours a day?

[Anonymous]

We’re in Los Angeles so maybe it’s different in DC but most of the kids I know are playing outside more than just 1.5 in morning and 1.5 in the afternoon.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Maybe not as infants, because naps can be tough to work around if they only nap at home in the crib in complete silence and darkness, but as toddlers, yes.

[Anonymous]

My kids (8 months and 2 years) are generally outside 10-12 and then 5-6 everyday.

[Anonymous]

Well duh. You live in a place with famously good weather year round. I remember visiting my California cousins as a kid and being amazed that even in January their schools had outdoor lunch and it was nice enough to be outside from the minute school got out until bedtime. People in SoCal complain about monsoon season and “June gloom” but that same weather is considered some of the best weather of the year in DC.

3 hr/day is pretty good in DC. It’s actually more feasible in the colder months and shoulder season. There are days in July/August when I think keeping kids outside fir more than an hour at a time is really unkind. It is not normal or healthy to spend a 95 degree day with 90%+ humidity out in a playground or park. And we have a lot of those.

[Anonymous]

6 hours a day. What do the experts recommend?

[Anonymous]

I was shocked too at the poster on the other thread who said those of us who kept our babies outside for three hours (total!) a day are 0.001% of the population. Even as a newborn I walked her in the carriage for over three hours a day (morning, afternoon, evening).

[Anonymous]

Depends on the day and weather, but yes, generally. We walk to and from daycare, so that’s about two hours (it’s only about a mile away but my 2yo is not exactly a speedy walker) and if the weather’s decent (daycare standard for decent weather are much higher than mine though), they’re outside during the day at daycare too. On weekends, it’s more like 4+ hours probably? We walk to the park or playground or farmer’s market or just around the neighborhood two or three times a day. I’m hoping to move somewhere more rural to get a place with a yard by the time my kids are in elementary so I don’t have to supervise quite so much and can do chores without keeping the kids indoors with me.

[Anonymous]

Gosh, if it's raining or too cold, we would stay inside all day. It was windy a LOT this winter.

[Anonymous]

It depends on the season, how old the kids are, how old the youngest is. I’m not sure of numbers. Sure in LA it seems easy to keep kids out that long. All the moms I know are trying to keep our kids out as much as possible and feel bad when it doesn’t work out - so I think there’s no need to shame or lecture people who don’t meet 3 hrs. I will say, I know some people who won’t play outside unless it’s “nice” weather.

[Anonymous]

FTM here- why is it important for toddlers to be outside 3 hours a day?

[Anonymous]

Who wants to take kids outside to be miserable in crappy weather when there is so much fun to have at home?

[Anonymous]

This conversation is ridiculous. We have friends in Scandinavian countries where it would be impossible to take kids outside for 3+ hours a day all year round, because of how short and cold the days get in the winter time. And these are very outdoorsy people who take their kids to school in the dark on skis and will arrange work schedules around being able to go hiking or to the park during the brief daylight hours. But they also accept that at certain times of the year, they will spend most of their time inside. They cook, play music, sauna, and do other cozy indoor activities. It's fine and their kids are happy and healthy.

It is extremely silly to have an argument about this when it's going to be heavily dictated by weather and where you live.

[Anonymous]

Definitely not because we work. I wouldn't really count 20 minutes in the stroller to/from day care because it's not active for him. He gets outside once or twice a day in day care when the weather's good, and sometimes we go to the park after, but it rarely exceeds 2 hours a day on weekdays and is usually less, especially in winter. We have dinner to cook, and baths, and story time, and bedtime...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FTM here- why is it important for toddlers to be outside 3 hours a day?

Yes, why is 3 the benchmark?

[Anonymous]

I live in New Hampshire. This is not possible.