PBS Kids for Parents Highlights NPF’s Thoughts on Getting Kids in Nature

PBS Kids for Parents features insights from NPF’s President and CEO Will Shafroth about the benefits of getting kids outside, and specifically with camping. The piece hyperlinks to NPF’s Open OutDoors for Kids program so that readers can learn more about that initiative connecting kids to parks. Read an excerpt from the story, “Make Camping With Kids a Success!” below.

“‘There are biological benefits to being in nature,’ said Will Shafroth, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation, which focuses on connecting people to the outdoors and visiting the national parks. “For people who really want to do something good for their kids, get them into nature.’”

If you or your kids have never been camping before, it can feel like a big undertaking. Consider what you need to prepare ahead of time and what you want to get out of the time together outdoors, but be open to whatever happens. ‘Use the opportunity to be intentional about creating the experience you want to create and then frankly, letting nature run its course. Nature is going to show you things and have you experience things that you can’t anticipate,’ said Shafroth, who has taken his own family on many camping trips.”

Read the full article here.