It was the last day of a week-long holiday and although it was mid-morning we had already been to the beach. The beach had been beautiful.

Sitting on the veranda of my parent’s holiday house, watching our children delight in nature, my husband and I decided to do it. We would take our children outside for three hours every day for a year. Part of the decision was motivated by the lovely outdoor moments from our family holiday—the wonderful bush walks, ocean swims and BBQs under the stars. We hoped we could bring these types of experiences into our everyday routine.

A growing body of research confirms what we discovered in our year-long experiment: spending time outside is very good for you. And extremely good for your children. Most importantly, when children play outdoors they are more active. And being active in early childhood supports the development of the heart and lungs and helps maintain a healthy weight.

Read the full article about a family's outdoor experiment by Hannah Alexander at Children & Nature Network.