Advice on Getting a Homebody into the Great Outdoors?

She just doesn't like it. Why does she have to? I don't love the great outdoors, gardening or hiking. Does she like to swim? That's a fun outdoor activity that will keep her cool. Try to do some inside activities with her, and then she can do some outside activities with her. Make it fair that not all family activities are geared around being outside. She might now feel like she is not supposed to be in the family, but later she may start to feel that way if you keep forcing her to do something that she really doesn't like to .

I am a self-proclaimed air conditioning hog.... I hate the heat, I hate the bugs, and I really hate sweating and feeling uncomfortable.

When the weather is nice (65 degrees or so) I will sit ouside, help with the yard, etc. But once it gets too hot, I am done and you can find me in the air conditioning reading or crocheting.

My husband and daughter are very outdoorsy, they ride bikes, garden, hike, etc, and that is fine.... that is THEM.

They know better than to try and get me to do anything, because once I am uncomfortable, they are miserable.

Use your cooler days to get her outside, but don't push it in the heat. My opinion of course, but then again, does she make you stay inside? or does she let you go do your own thing?

I was always a great reader as a child. All summer long my mom would be telling me to get my nose out of that book and go OUTSIDE, lol.

What DOES your daughter really enjoy? If she likes reading, allow her to take a book into the garden with you and read out loud to you while you weed. Set up a comfortable tree house or outdoor space where she can feel sheltered and more comfortable, but still be outside. I think baby steps and not forcing her to do something is the key here- you don't want her to grow to hate being outdoors altogether!

Try getting her one of those little fan/spray bottles to carry. If she is feeling overheated, she can spritz herself with it. Buy her a fancy sunhat that she gets to pick out- make her comfortable as she can be. Some people like to hike and be active outside and some just like to sit in a shady chair on the dock and read. It sounds like you have the right idea- just make her comfortable as you can outdoors and try to find ways to involve her in family activities, but don't push it too much, IMO. Good Luck!

When I was younger I wanted to go out to have fun like everyone else, but I hated to be hot. I used to get such a dirty face because I couldn't stop touching it. Any bug that flew near me would make me itch. I don't like sleeves because they suffocate my armpits...even in the winter. My hair bugs me and my glasses sweat off my face. I was much happier inside with the tv or book. Now that I have two sons, I truly believe they were meant for me. They make me want to go outside, though I still like to be inside sometimes. I sit in the shade, I put my feet in the kiddie pool and I always have a water bottle. (I used to always have a cup of ice when I was younger). I spend a lot of times in my swimsuit top because I don't like sweating in my bra and I don't like the feeling of so much clothing.
Nothing really got me outside...it really had to be something I wanted to do and usually with a friend.
I'm not big into swimming, but I loved putting the sprinkler under the trampoline...if you have one. (Burn energy and cool off at the same time)

I, too, have "inside kids" and "outside kids." While I encourage my kids to all be outside as much as possible, I rarely force the situation. That being said, it is a "requirement" in my house that you spend at least 30 minutes doing SOMETHING outside each day (that it is not raining, of course). It can be ANYTHING at all - the sky is the limit. Maybe just try setting a time each day of whatever you think is appropriate and see if you can't scoot her out the door. Tell her that even if she just sits in the shade, all she has to do is meet the required time and then the rest of the day is hers to spend inside.

Good luck!

It’s hard to encourage or “change” someone to like the outdoors. It’s kind of like changing a nighttime person into a morning person. I don’t have this situation at home as both my kids are outdoorsy like me. However, I do agree with Elizabeth R. I like her answer. It’s what I would have suggested, plus I would add water balloons to that too and Camelbak’s for hiking. My kids love theirs and the water stays super cool in them.

Unfortunately, I don't think you can force anyone to LOVE the great outdoors, but if the rest of the family is outside, she should be out there too.
What is it she wants to do in the house? Watch TV, play video games? Read? If she likes reading, you can always find a cool spot for her to read or write in a journal. Maybe even draw.
I asked about the TV and video games because I have several friends whose kids claim to hate being outside, it's too hot, it's too windy, there are bugs...and while the rest of the family is out enjoying the weather, they just want to be inside in front of the television. I had a boy come stay with us for a few days and we had a streak of really nice weather (in between days and days of non-stop rain) and we were so happy to have the chance to be outside and have a picnic and go to the park. He complained the whole time. Everytime he went into the house "to use the bathroom", he didn't come out and I caught him in my son's room with the blinds drawn playing video games. That's all he wanted to do morning, noon, and night. His mom didn't let him bring his game-boy so he couldn't play them outside.
My other friend's son, and she'd tell you this herself, her son will play outside all day long, swimming, riding his bike, playing basketball....the minute she asks him to pick up a rake, it's too hot, his foot hurts, he bent his finger back and needs to go inside. What I mean is, does she really hate it outside or just the hiking or working in the yard and gardening part?
Her sister has two gardens, maybe your 8 year old could make tags for the rows and draw pictures for the beets and the carrots or whatever you have growing. Have you tried getting a badminton set? There are 4 of you and you could play teams. What about letting her draw on the sidewalk or her and her sister playing hopscotch? Maybe get her some binoculars and check out some bird or butterfly books at the library so she can do some birdwatching or make a journal of which butterflies she sees.
She may be more interested in cerebral activities as opposed to physical ones.
Surely there are things you could find for her to do that she won't absolutely hate. She may never really like being outside, but it makes me kind of sad to think of her not enjoying anything about it at all. Especially the part about enjoying being with the rest of her family.
I'm like you, I love the heat and the sun. The only time I don't like being outside is when it's cold and windy and raining. I don't even want to get in the car to go somewhere in bad weather, so I have my outside "issues" too.
Does she like walking in the rain and splashing in puddles? Does she enjoy going to the snow or is it just being outside in general?
You've already tried some great things...all I can think is keep trying.
She may never really love being outside, but if you can find some things to get her involved that she will enjoy, I'd consider it a victory.

Best wishes!

L.,
You don't need ideas/tips/tricks, but I would recommend that you stop defining who she is by noting her differences. When I was a child, my family called me the house cat. I would go outside to play with friends, but the heat was intolerable during the summers. Anyway, something changed on its own because I chose a career that has me outside 90% of the time in some of the most hostile environmental conditions and I am an avid gardener. Let her be, don't reinforce the idea that she is different, and don't encourage labelling her as a homebody. Sometimes, I think that I acted the part of the house cat because that is who I was told I was. Maybe what you can do is let her choose a family activity once in a while. Maybe if she sees that you are willing to embrace her activities that she will be more willing to embrace yours?
Good luck,
C.

I was never an outdoorsy person until very recently... so she may change eventually! I too was a bookworm, like some of the others have said... I was OK outside as long as I was allowed to bring a book along. If that's the case with your daughter - maybe you can plan outings to places where one daughter can sit & the other can ride her bike, swim, etc.

My other suggestion is on weekends (or whenever the whole family is together), divide & conquer... take turns taking the outdoorsy one on hikes or whatever, while the other parent takes the younger child to an activity of her choosing. Libraries have a lot of fun, free activities over the summer. Or you could get the free/reduced passes to indoor museums & such, if that's more her style.

Have you considered Girl Scouts? My daughter was the same way, but after she joined scouts, she got to experience the outdoors with her peers (family can be SO boring you know! LOL) and on her own terms. Now she loves to camp, hike etc...and even takes several outdoor based after school activities during the school year. And she always counts down the days to Girl Scout camp every summer. I'm a single mom so I get the money issue, the scouts have programs to help pay for memberships and camp. The amount received depends on the need. If your interested you can go to www.girlscouts.org for more info and click "council finder" to locate troops in your area.

My parents both love the outdoors, and we went camping and hiking a lot when I was a kid. My parents divorced, and my dad later remarried. My step-mother didn't like to camp, but we still went hiking a lot. My step-sister (7 years younger than me, from here on my "sister") HATED hiking. She was always way in the back saying, "Can we go home yet?" She was miserable, we were miserable, and she was so SLOW.

Then one year when my sister was in high school she and I were brainstorming about what to get my dad for father's day, and we decided upon a family hike up a mountain with the added bonus that my sister would not compalin even once. My dad was incredulous; he did not think she could do it. So we set off on this Father's Day hike, and my sister was up in front with me. I think her attitude was, "let's be fast and just get this thing over with if I'm not evey allowed to complain." We were booking it up the mountain, talking the whole time, and about halfway up my sister said, "You know what? It's a lot more fun when I'm not complaining the whole time." Now my sister loves to hike, and she has voluntarily gone hiking with me on several occasions!

My 4-year-old son also has a bad habit of complaining about things. He will decide he's not going to have fun somewhere and then proceed to make himself and everyone else miserable. We're talking a lot these days about how you can decide to have fun or not to have fun, and it will come true. So much of life is about your attitude. I'm not sure yet whether this is something you can teach someone or whether you really have to learn it on your own, as my sister did. And I'm sure that my sister's miraculous about-face with regard to hiking would not have happened for everyone. Maybe you can't get your daughter to really love being outside, but if she has to be out there with the rest of the family, then surely there are ways to make it bearable for her. But it has to start with her desire to have fun.

Maybe you can work out a deal where she gives you a certain amount of outside time where she pretends to have fun in exchange for your letting her stay inside for a certain period of time. Maybe you even stay inside with her and pretend to have fun in exchange. Perhaps everyone will start really having fun while they're pretending!

Hammock? I love being outside, but the heat kills me too. As soon as it gets over 75/humid I get exertional migraines and turn into a bear. Compromise on the cooler days, give in if it is hot. She may just be so uncomfortable that her memories of summer will be the torture...not a good way to enjoy the summer or family. Maybe she can help plan an activity that would be more acceptable? Does she like projects? Perhaps she can help create that treehouse or backyard haven. Does she like fairies? A lot of young readers might be enticed to create fairy houses etc out of woody materials and "finds" in the woods. She might become captivated by hiking to look for the right sticks or stones to make that house or litttle walkway, or table set for the fairies and wood nymphs...

What about the other seasons? Does she like fall, winter or spring any better than summer? Maybe a pool will keep her cool and get her outside a bit more. Not everybody is an outdoors person.