Here’s a simple parent-child activity that will show how even a few moments in time can really ground us.
Discover your inner child with your child.
Open your heart to wonder and be awed by nature.
For more special one-on-one activities for you to bond with your child, see our parent-child activities page!
Activity: Go hug a tree!
Description: Take off your shoes. Walk around the ground in dirt or grass with your bare feet for a few minutes and then literally spend a minute hugging a tree!
Standing on opposite sides of the tree, see if you and your child can surround the tree with your arms and touch hands.
Additional Thoughts: Emerging evidence shows that contact with the Earth – whether being outside barefoot or indoors connected to grounded conductive systems – may be a simple, natural, and yet profoundly effective environmental strategy against chronic stress, inflammation, pain, poor sleep, and many common health disorders, including cardiovascular disease.
Mounting evidence suggests that the Earth’s negative potential can create a stable internal bioelectrical environment for the normal functioning of all body systems.
To read more: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3265077/
So, get out of your comfort zone and do something a little silly! Notice the dirt between your toes, feel the coarseness of the bark on your face, laugh together and hug that tree!
Duration: 2 minutes
Location:
– Outside
This is a fun little activity you can do anytime you’re near a tree. Even better if you’re out in public and random people are walking by.
Materials:
A big tree
How did you do?
Please let us know how your mini-date went in the comments section below.