I run a home daycare. We aim for 9am - 9:45 am outside. Out again from 10:30- 11:40. Then again from 3pm - 4:30.

Story time, music, block play, art, climbers, science, vegetable & flower gardens, toys & free play....all outside.

I.... was the most indoorsy possible kid, and I am still not a huge fan of the outdoors, per se. But like... they really are meant to be outdoors. This isn't a mommy shaming thing. Whatever you can do is what you can do. But "1 hour is fine" is just... it's not, if you can possibly do more. What they NEED is as much time as possible. You may not be able to give them all that, and they'll definitely live. But it shouldn't be framed as a "minimum," as in checking a box.

This makes me think of the many DCUM posters who say, "Yeah, my kid spends X hours per day on screens, but they also run, jump, skip, play, climb trees, read books..." and they really do all those other things! But they spend a total of like 1-2 hours on those other things, as if they were checking off gym time or something.

It should be that kids' default state is being outdoors and active. I completely and totally understand why it's not always possible! I really do. We lived in a high rise apartment in an urban area for my kid's first 5 years. But that, and not indoors and stationary, should be where people start, if at all possible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our daycare has the toddlers outside for two 45 minute sessions a day.

Where are you guys getting four hours a day?! Even on weekends my two and a half year old wants to come inside from our yard at around an hour.

Same. These are suburban SAHMs with the “four hours” or those with onlies. Impossible.

Come on people. This isn definitely possible. 1.5 hrs taking walks in a ride along stroller spread out throughout the day to encompass errands (get a ride along stroller so toddler can stand when tired), 2 hours, sometimes more in nearby parks (AM and PM session, longer if the water play at the nearby water feature at a park was active, both kids loved that. Ate lunch outside at the park before nap. Sometimes fed them dinner outside too just sitting on the porch steps while people watching...we didn’t have a yard but if you do it’s much easier to spend time outside. My friend kept her baby in a play yard in her backyard that had a little tent over it while her other kid played.

Nope. Simply not possible with two kids (2.5 and 8 month old). I don’t want either strapped in a stroller for 1.5 a day nor do I want to force 2.5 yr old to “sit on a stoop” in front of a busy street (if we had a stoop).

My kids are active and want out of the stroller. And the baby will not sleep on the stroller. We get an hour to run and play in a park every morning - sometimes more - and a quick walk in the afternoon. 2 hours max. No yard, not outdoor space.

Stop trying to guilt Mother’s with this completely arbitrary “4 hours”.

I think you need to open your mind and learn that there is a difference between “not possible” and “not possible for me because it doesn’t suit my preferences.” Your baby doesn’t sleep in the stroller, that’s specific to your babies. Plenty of babies do sleep in the stroller and plenty of moms wear their babies. No one is setting an arbitrary 4 hours but my kids would be miserable if they were indoors all day. They’re active and love being out in nature and sunshine, and the days they are out a lot they definitely sleep all day.

She is saying, “not possible for me” because of her location as well as the ages and temperaments of her children.

Let it go, PP. We’re all doing the best we can.

No she’s said it’s “not possible” multiple times as if people with a lifestyle different to hers must be lying. And it seems to me the most privileged of statements that kids can’t go out when it’s hot or sunny or stay in nature. What do you think 99 percent of the kids in the world do all day?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our daycare has the toddlers outside for two 45 minute sessions a day.

Where are you guys getting four hours a day?! Even on weekends my two and a half year old wants to come inside from our yard at around an hour.

Same. These are suburban SAHMs with the “four hours” or those with onlies. Impossible.

Come on people. This isn definitely possible. 1.5 hrs taking walks in a ride along stroller spread out throughout the day to encompass errands (get a ride along stroller so toddler can stand when tired), 2 hours, sometimes more in nearby parks (AM and PM session, longer if the water play at the nearby water feature at a park was active, both kids loved that. Ate lunch outside at the park before nap. Sometimes fed them dinner outside too just sitting on the porch steps while people watching...we didn’t have a yard but if you do it’s much easier to spend time outside. My friend kept her baby in a play yard in her backyard that had a little tent over it while her other kid played.

Nope. Simply not possible with two kids (2.5 and 8 month old). I don’t want either strapped in a stroller for 1.5 a day nor do I want to force 2.5 yr old to “sit on a stoop” in front of a busy street (if we had a stoop).

My kids are active and want out of the stroller. And the baby will not sleep on the stroller. We get an hour to run and play in a park every morning - sometimes more - and a quick walk in the afternoon. 2 hours max. No yard, not outdoor space.

Stop trying to guilt Mother’s with this completely arbitrary “4 hours”.

I think you need to open your mind and learn that there is a difference between “not possible” and “not possible for me because it doesn’t suit my preferences.” Your baby doesn’t sleep in the stroller, that’s specific to your babies. Plenty of babies do sleep in the stroller and plenty of moms wear their babies. No one is setting an arbitrary 4 hours but my kids would be miserable if they were indoors all day. They’re active and love being out in nature and sunshine, and the days they are out a lot they definitely sleep all day.

She is saying, “not possible for me” because of her location as well as the ages and temperaments of her children.

Let it go, PP. We’re all doing the best we can.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None. I hate nature, hate the sun, hate bugs, don't want to sit in grass, and have always been this way. Perfectly healthy.

You aren’t perfectly healthy if you “hate nature.” Study after study shows that time outdoors is beneficial to mental & even physical health in people of all ages.

And yet, you're wrong. Because you assumed I spend zero time outside. I DO spend time outside, just not when it's hot, or sunny, and I don't go to nature-y places. Three hours wandering around a city? Sure! Three hours hiking Runyon Canyon? Absolutely not.

Must be hard to not want to go out when it’s hot or sunny. That excludes most days, and most kids love nature.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our daycare has the toddlers outside for two 45 minute sessions a day.

Where are you guys getting four hours a day?! Even on weekends my two and a half year old wants to come inside from our yard at around an hour.

Same. These are suburban SAHMs with the “four hours” or those with onlies. Impossible.

Come on people. This isn definitely possible. 1.5 hrs taking walks in a ride along stroller spread out throughout the day to encompass errands (get a ride along stroller so toddler can stand when tired), 2 hours, sometimes more in nearby parks (AM and PM session, longer if the water play at the nearby water feature at a park was active, both kids loved that. Ate lunch outside at the park before nap. Sometimes fed them dinner outside too just sitting on the porch steps while people watching...we didn’t have a yard but if you do it’s much easier to spend time outside. My friend kept her baby in a play yard in her backyard that had a little tent over it while her other kid played.

Nope. Simply not possible with two kids (2.5 and 8 month old). I don’t want either strapped in a stroller for 1.5 a day nor do I want to force 2.5 yr old to “sit on a stoop” in front of a busy street (if we had a stoop).

My kids are active and want out of the stroller. And the baby will not sleep on the stroller. We get an hour to run and play in a park every morning - sometimes more - and a quick walk in the afternoon. 2 hours max. No yard, not outdoor space.

Stop trying to guilt Mother’s with this completely arbitrary “4 hours”.

I think you need to open your mind and learn that there is a difference between “not possible” and “not possible for me because it doesn’t suit my preferences.” Your baby doesn’t sleep in the stroller, that’s specific to your babies. Plenty of babies do sleep in the stroller and plenty of moms wear their babies. No one is setting an arbitrary 4 hours but my kids would be miserable if they were indoors all day. They’re active and love being out in nature and sunshine, and the days they are out a lot they definitely sleep all day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None. I hate nature, hate the sun, hate bugs, don't want to sit in grass, and have always been this way. Perfectly healthy.

You aren’t perfectly healthy if you “hate nature.” Study after study shows that time outdoors is beneficial to mental & even physical health in people of all ages.

And yet, you're wrong. Because you assumed I spend zero time outside. I DO spend time outside, just not when it's hot, or sunny, and I don't go to nature-y places. Three hours wandering around a city? Sure! Three hours hiking Runyon Canyon? Absolutely not.

All children and adults need to spend time outdoors. The amount of time will increase as the children get older. Everyday is optimal. Playtime at a park or in your yard is a great place to start. The vitamin D we get outside is necessary for our physical health. In addition , you want to be able to teach your children about this amazing earth God created for us. This is difficult to do if they can't experience it for themselves outside. Exercising for children is much more fun outside then indoors and they get a lot more exercise when they do it outdoors. Staying indoors all the time affects our mental health negatively. We see this in the winter when in some parts of the nation it is too cold to go outside for stretches at a time.

1.5 hours of outdoor free play according to daycare standards.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:4 hrs per day. More if the weather is nice.

Simply not possible with 2 under 2 in an urban area.

+1. Nor with elementary aged kids in school during the school year.

+2. Nor toddler twins in the city.

Our kids actually live outside. They drink from the hose (it's filtered) and eat 5 small vegan paleo meals a day which are delivered by a local meal prep company via drone. We let them inside for 45 minutes twice a week to pet the dog (who lives in a custom-built canine habitat module in our living room).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:4 hrs per day. More if the weather is nice.

Simply not possible with 2 under 2 in an urban area.

+1. Nor with elementary aged kids in school during the school year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our daycare has the toddlers outside for two 45 minute sessions a day.

Where are you guys getting four hours a day?! Even on weekends my two and a half year old wants to come inside from our yard at around an hour.

Same. These are suburban SAHMs with the “four hours” or those with onlies. Impossible.

Come on people. This isn definitely possible. 1.5 hrs taking walks in a ride along stroller spread out throughout the day to encompass errands (get a ride along stroller so toddler can stand when tired), 2 hours, sometimes more in nearby parks (AM and PM session, longer if the water play at the nearby water feature at a park was active, both kids loved that. Ate lunch outside at the park before nap. Sometimes fed them dinner outside too just sitting on the porch steps while people watching...we didn’t have a yard but if you do it’s much easier to spend time outside. My friend kept her baby in a play yard in her backyard that had a little tent over it while her other kid played.

Nope. Simply not possible with two kids (2.5 and 8 month old). I don’t want either strapped in a stroller for 1.5 a day nor do I want to force 2.5 yr old to “sit on a stoop” in front of a busy street (if we had a stoop).

My kids are active and want out of the stroller. And the baby will not sleep on the stroller. We get an hour to run and play in a park every morning - sometimes more - and a quick walk in the afternoon. 2 hours max. No yard, not outdoor space.

Stop trying to guilt Mother’s with this completely arbitrary “4 hours”.

At 1-2 I think the kids don't need more than an hour, but ideally they would get more. Totally depends on weather though. On nice weekend days we'll often go to the playground with both kids (9 months and 4 yrs), play for 2 hrs, eat lunch outside, and play for another hour before heading home for nap. I'm not an "outside rain or shine" person though. We bundle up and play outside if it's above freezing, but if it's very cold or if it's raining, we're staying inside.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our daycare has the toddlers outside for two 45 minute sessions a day.

Where are you guys getting four hours a day?! Even on weekends my two and a half year old wants to come inside from our yard at around an hour.

Same. These are suburban SAHMs with the “four hours” or those with onlies. Impossible.

Come on people. This isn definitely possible. 1.5 hrs taking walks in a ride along stroller spread out throughout the day to encompass errands (get a ride along stroller so toddler can stand when tired), 2 hours, sometimes more in nearby parks (AM and PM session, longer if the water play at the nearby water feature at a park was active, both kids loved that. Ate lunch outside at the park before nap. Sometimes fed them dinner outside too just sitting on the porch steps while people watching...we didn’t have a yard but if you do it’s much easier to spend time outside. My friend kept her baby in a play yard in her backyard that had a little tent over it while her other kid played.