National Walking Month with Kids: 3 simple ways to get outside (without it feeling like a walk)

May is celebrated as National Walking Month - a wonderful opportunity to venture outdoors, stretch your legs and discover the world alongside your little ones. Walking is not only beneficial for your health, but it's also enjoyable, educational and environmentally friendly.

If you’re looking for simple ways of getting kids moving outside, especially during National Walking Month, this is a good place to start.

Quick ideas to make walking with kids easier

• Give the walk a purpose (litter picking works every time)

• Add simple games as you go

• Let children lead the pace and direction

• Be ready to stop and notice small things

• Keep it short — it often grows naturally

How do you turn a walk into an adventure for kids?

You don’t need more time, a new place, or lots of planning.

In most cases, it comes down to three simple shifts:

• purpose

• play

• noticing

1. Give it a purpose (litter picking works every time)

If a walk has a job, children approach it differently.

Litter picking is one of the simplest ways to encourage walking with kids. It gives immediate focus — something to look for, something to carry, something to keep them wanting to walk that little bit further.

Children slow down, notice more and stay engaged for longer. What might have been a quick loop often stretches into something much bigger, without anyone really noticing.

PLUS If you have pre-made your Seed Bombs then a walk can be a really fun opportunity to discover places to throw them.

We often find that what starts as a short 10-minute walk turns into much longer once the children have things to focus on and missions to complete.

Our Litter Picking Kits have been created specifically to equip and protect children, without being a burden on the Earth.

2. Add a layer of play (without overplanning it)

You don’t need a full activity plan. Just a few small ideas you can drop in as you go.

These are the ones we come back to again and again:

• Racing to a tree, gate or lamppost (first one there wins)

• Making up songs about what you can see as you walk

• Taking turns to guide each other (in a safe, open space), with one person blindfolded and the other giving directions - this is one of our most favourites

3. Be ready for what they notice

Children are brilliant at spotting the things we miss.

A worm on the pavement. A snail crossing a path. A bee resting in the grass.

And quite often, they want to help...

How can children help wildlife on a walk?

This is often where a walk shifts again — from noticing to caring.

Having something small with you — something that lets children respond to these moments — can turn a simple family walk into something much more memorable.

This is exactly why I created the wildlife rescue kits.

They’re designed to be easy to carry and simple to use on everyday walks. Nothing complicated — just enough to help when those moments come up.

Whether it’s:

• Moving a worm back onto soil

• Helping a snail to a safer place

• Or giving a tired bee a quick energy boost

…it gives children a way to care for the small things they find.

If you’ve read my post on helping bees, you’ll know how much these small moments matter — this just brings it into real life, while you’re already outside.

Why short walks work so well for children

Walking gives children something they don’t often get in structured activities — time to notice, move at their own pace and follow their curiosity.

When you add a small sense of purpose or play, it becomes something they feel part of rather than something they’re being asked to do.

Family walks don’t need to be long to count

The best family walks with kids aren’t usually the longest ones.

They’re the ones where you:

• go at their pace

• stop often

• follow their interests

A simple way to start this National Walking Month (with kids)

If you want to get outside more this May, keep it simple:

• choose an easy, familiar route

• add a bit of purpose

• bring something small that helps your child get involved

  
  

That’s it.

Because once a walk has a purpose — once it feels like something else entirely — children don’t really see it as a walk at all.

And that’s usually when the good stuff happens.