Muddy wellies

I was pretty horrified to read the summary of various pieces of research recently that suggest that kids in the UK are spending on average HALF the amount of time outdoors that we did when we were little. I know – iPads, consoles, TV, fear of the bogeymen are all at play here, but it feels to me like one of those things that we could do a lot more about doesn’t it?

Actually, there is some research that goes even further, suggesting that 75% of our kids spend less time outside than prison inmates! Maybe that’s an exaggeration – it’s not something I particularly recognise in our household where the children probably spend more time cooped up in a car being ferried to the next sporting event they are involved in but I can understand where it might be a thing.

The point is, kids ARE spending more time indoors. Fact. Actually we all are. So we thought we would run a little competition this Autumn to encourage families to spend time outside.

We don’t want our kids to be part of this worrying statistic, and we hope that for the most part, we have tried to instil a love of the great outdoors in our lot. But we know that, especially as they get older, it’s a battle – social activities, the draw of the screens, and recently for the oldest, a job (shock, horror – literally in fact as a scare actor at Shocktoberfest) can be hard to compete with.

“ We’ve heard that on average kids are spending HALF the time that their parents did outside!”
nessie

So, here’s the competition. We want you to #putyourwellieson and get muddy with your family. Whether you’re pumpkin picking, dog walking, beach strolling or puddle splashing we want to hear about it and we will be giving out prizes every single month on these hashtags.

Here’s how to get involved:

When you’re out and about and wellied up (or wearing outdoor shoes of any persuasion):

* Take a snap of you all in your wellies and tag us on instagram @thisisnessiecom and use the hashtag #putyourwellieson. 

We’ll be sharing your pictures and each month we’ll pick a winner to receive a FREE personalised Welly Boot Print!

If you want some inspiration, I’ve included a few links below: 

National Trust

AND GUESS WHAT’s top of the second list? Welly wandering, of course.

Ordnance Survey

So come on, people of Britain. Set down your consoles, cast aside the remotes, pocket your phone and pull on your wellies. We can’t wait to see you out there in our peerless landscape.

**15th November 2019**
Congratulations to our winner @life_of_bobbyandlilly!