'Embrace the mess': Why this mom of 3 believes getting outdoors is key to 'disconnecting' from screens
It can be a challenge to keep young kids busy and engaged, and no one knows that better than Ginger Parrish. The social media influencer and entrepreneur is mom to three boys — Jonah, 8, Rigg, 6, and Jack, 3 — and she says getting them outdoors is key.
“Getting outside keeps us from going insane,” Parrish, who has 232,000 followers on Instagram, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “We’ve found a lot of peace outside.”
Parrish and her husband Jon are both busy entrepreneurs and she says it’s important to them to keep all of their attention on their kids when they go outside together as a family. “It really helps us to stay tuned into the goal we have as a family in teaching our children to be present and active, physically and mentally,” she says.
When they get out, Parrish says she sets her phone on airplane mode so that family time isn’t disturbed. She also makes a point to snap photos for a bit and then put her phone away. “It’s hard for me, I love pictures so much,” she says. “But a lot of times you can be controlled by that. It really takes the fun out of being in the moment.”
Parrish says her boys love to get dirty when they go outside, and she’s all for it. “They skip rocks, do scavengers hunts and a lot of times we’ll set an eye spy game before we go,” she says. “They’re super big on collecting rocks, as well as sticks. They’re also really into dirt biking.”
While her boys get messy, Parrish says she’s learned to “embrace” it. “I’ve had to learn that boys are dirty,” she says. “I’m always following them around with a cloth to try to clean them up. It makes all of us crazy, but I’ve learned at times to just let them roll. They’re happier that way.” And it certainly helps that this mother has Dial? Spring Water? Body Wash at home “to really clean up, get between every finger and every toe!”
Parrish says she’s hoping indulging in messes helps her children enjoy the outdoors that much more. “Encouraging them to get outside and get messy keeps them enjoying the time they have away from the screens and tablets,” she says.
Ultimately, Parrish says she hopes her children get lifelong lessons out of their time outdoors. “I hope that they’re learning that it doesn’t take a lot to be happy,” she says. “It’s the people you love that matter the most and all the things are just things. Really being able to dive deep into gratitude and each other... that’s where the magic happens.”
This article was paid for by Dial and created by Yahoo Lifestyle’s branded content team. The Yahoo Lifestyle editorial staff did not participate in the creation of this content.