What if you're not outdoorsy?

Growing up I was very 'indoorsy'. All of my hobbies involved being in my room, I loved being on my own and avoiding my sister for the most part, and it's only once I became a mum that I realised how indoorsy I actually was. I didn't want to raise an indoorsy child, so how do you become more outdoorsy if it doesn't come naturally to you?

Well I'm not sure I've really figured it out either! But I have tried to think of things to do when my brain naturally tries to revert to my indoorsy train of thought.

1) Try and pinpoint what are some of the obstacles you face to getting outdoors? If you are worried about him getting muddy? Buy a puddle suit and always have a spare change of clothes and towel in the car. Dont have much time to go outdoors today? Even one hour will do. He's not crawling yet so it won't be fun? Even a push in the pram is being outdoors!

2) You might not live near green spaces and parks so a journey outdoors might seem even more of a pain for that reason. Make it easy to get in the car and go by having spares of everything in the car, or have a grab bag that gets taken with you. If you rely on public transport then always have the timetable handy and something to distract them for the journey. Bring food and snacks so that if you are late getting back you have supplied to hand.

3) Being outdoors doesn't have to be an amazing instagrammable occasion. Don't put pressure on yourself to make it perfect/ educational/ Instagram worthy/ structured, sometimes just going with the flow is when you will have the most fun

4) Connect with other outdoor lovers. Join your local OM group, follow people in your local area who have a love of the outdoors for ideas of where to go, join mum groups to find other mums to meet with when out and about or just arrange to meet your friends in your local park rather than the coffee shop.

5) You don't need to spend money to be outdoors. Sure you might want to buy the latest camping equipment for your tent adventures and amazing walking boots for your hikes, but really all that matters is you are outdoors.

I hope some of this has helped you and I would love to hear from my fellow self confessed 'indoorsy' mums who have also discovered a love for being outdoors. What are your tips for making it easier to get out more? Remember, you don't have to be 'outdoorsy' to enjoy being outdoors.

This is a blog by Charlotte Meyers one of our facilitators at outdoor mums.