What Does It Mean To Take Your Kids Outside? - By Erica Cartner
FORWARD - ReelCamoGirl is a lifestyle brand focused on encouraging women and girls who love to hunt, fish, hike, shoot, dive, etc. RCG offers a (safe) place, through website and social media where people can share their pictures, stories, recipes, etc.
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Not counting experiences (we'll talk about that later) taking your child outside means CONFIDENCE. How do I know? Not because I Googled it, or read some fancy research, although there is plenty of that. I know because I've seen it. I watched it today as my four year old climbed over rocks that she was once afraid of.
When we started out on our 2 hour hike, she was afraid that she would fall so she was doing the "downward dog" climb method over rocks that she could have just stepped
over. She did this for probably the first half hour until we finally convinced her that she could stand up and walk. Then she did fall. There were tears, but then realization that she would be okay. You know what that was? That was her gaining confidence. She figured out that even though it hurt, she could get back up and keep going.
By the end of the hike, she was scaling over boulders and jumping off the other side. No fear; or at least far less than when we first started.
She also gained memories. Memories that (hopefully) will last a lifetime. These outdoor experiences are (as the movie "Inside Out" would put it are"Core Memories")
We took her cat fishing a few weeks ago and she STILL is telling everyone who will listen how her momma caught two catfish. She didn't catch anything that day, but it didn't matter. She was outdoors creating happy memories. It reminds me of the Trace Adkins song Just Fishin' and the lines "She's doin' almost everything but sittin' still...But I guarantee this memory's a big'n, and she thinks we're just fishin'." Cheesy? Yes. True? Absolutely. Some of my favorite memories from childhood are going camping and leaving my line in the stream overnight to find a fish on it in the morning.
These are the things, the opportunities, that shape a child's life. It's one of the things that matters most. It doesn't cost anything but your time to take a child on a walk and point out how beautiful nature can be.
Follow Erica on her Instagram account @okie_erica
ReelCamo girls are strong, capable, kind, compassionate, nature & country-loving individuals. We encourage responsible and ethical hunting. We care about land and wildlife management as well as long-term sustainability. We hunt, fish, dive, shoot and hike…for peace of mind, happiness, pure clean protein & connection to the outdoors. ReelCamoGirls can shoot a gun, draw a bow, track an animal, get CAMOed up, bait a hook, clean a fish and still be feminine and girly.
We are ALWAYS looking for photos of women and girls in the outdoors. Please take a moment and send in a photo with some details to Lauren@reelcamogirl.com or go to the website to send in a photo of a ReelCamoGirl or CamoCutie!
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