What slowing down teaches kids

By Stacie Gaetz

My family and I recently went on a hike to Big Hill Springs Provincial Park. Watching my seven-year-old daughter and five-year-old son marvel in the simplicity of the flowers, butterflies and rocks reminded me of the importance of slowing down to take it all in.

Our lives are so busy that even when we go on an adventure, like a hike with our family, we tend to rush through it.

My family’s goal was to make it to the top of the trail and have a picnic and I found myself rushing to that end point, but why?

We are all busy with work, childcare, extracurricular activities, camp, play dates and more. The go-go-go pace of daily life can cause us to be stuck in that mindset all the time.

So much so that when my kids stopped to look at a bug, bird or branch on our hike, my initial reaction was to tell them to hurry along to get to where we were going. Before I could open my mouth to rush them, it occurred to me that “reaching the end” is not the point of a hike.

The Journey

I needed to slow down and focus on the journey, not the destination.

Once I remembered we were there to enjoy nature and take it all in, the adventure truly began, and we all started to really have some fun.

We stopped as many times as they wanted to and looked at whatever they wanted to for as long as they wanted to. This prompted some really interesting discussions and questions that would not have come up if we were rushing to the end of the hike.

We inspected everything from the needles of a pine tree to a 10-foot rock overhang.

Allowing our kids the freedom to explore and giving our direct attention to whatever item they found allowed them to feel important and let them know that what is interesting to them is exciting to us as well.

My husband and I also gave the kids our undivided attention by putting away our phones (other than to take photos to capture the fun) so we could really entrench ourselves in the experience.

The Learning

It occurred to me that taking the time to inspect our surroundings could even have an educational component (without the kids realizing it).

Why not stop and count the pedals on a flower?

Watching wildlife like birds and bugs can spark a conversation about everything from feathers and exoskeletons to nests and hives.

As we walked on the dirt path alongside a rushing waterfall and a babbling creek, we talked about our five senses and the things we could hear, see, smell, taste and touch right that minute.

We spoke about the rushing water and how it can erode dirt and even rocks to change the landscape.

We stopped to look at nooks and crannies in the trees and rocks and guess what kind of creatures might live in there.

As we got to the summit of the hill and gazed out on the beautiful valley below, we wondered how many kimolmetres wide it was and how many creatures called it home.

Learning more about nature also has the benefit of giving children a new respect for all things natural. Kids are much less likely to pull a branch off of a tree or stomp a bug if they have spent a few minutes learning about them.

The Mindfulness

Perhaps even more important to our children’s well-being than sneaking in some educational elements is the fact that slowing down and taking the time to inspect our surroundings can help us become more mindful.

Noticing the marvels of nature makes us grateful to live in such a gorgeous country where we have the freedom to explore magnificent areas like Big Hill Springs.

Watching a beautiful butterfly gives us a new appreciation for nature and all of its creations.

Spending time together makes us thankful that we can take time to explore new places as a family (even if the kids find countless things to bicker about along the way).

“Slow down and smell the roses.”

That’s how the saying goes. To most of us, it is just a cliché that we overlook but there could be more value in it than we realize.

Making your children feel valued, appreciating your time together as a family, respecting nature and being grateful for your surroundings all come along with taking a bit of time to slow down, inspect and appreciate the things around you – wherever you are.