The Benefits of Taking the Kids Out

It's no secret I like to go out and stay busy. One of the most frequent comments I receive from triplet mom friends, strangers in public, and family is centered around how much we go out.  Sometimes the comments are really positive like, "Good for you.  I can't believe you're out with all of them." Some comments are rude, such as, "You need to keep those babies home.  They're going to get sick." Either way, we go on our merry little way, exploring the world around us.

Last week I was complaining about the quad stroller and what a pain in the ass it is to load and unload the kids into.  Jesse said, "You know you don't have to take them everywhere. What's the point? Do you remember anything from when you were two?"

His comment made me angry and caused me to second-guess my motives behind our outings. I vented with other moms and brainstormed reasons why it's so important to me that I take the kids out.  Here's what we came up with:

Benefits for Children

• stimulates their minds
• provides different sensory experiences
• creates interest in things outside the home
• develops curiosity
• strengthens their immune systems
• shapes their behavior in public places
• builds an understanding of their community
• builds their vocabulary and language development
• keeps them physically active
• reduces social anxiety (hopefully)
• creates opportunities for social interaction
• expends energy

Benefits for Mothers

• increases independence
• provides variation/prevents monotony
• creates valuable memories with children
• creates opportunities to take pictures that can be shared with children later
• increases confidence level
• provides opportunities for social interaction

So...while my children may not have any recollection of what they are doing right now, I think it's important to expose them to books, music, people, exercise, different languages, etc. as early as possible. Going to the park, museum, library, rec center, aquarium, and so on, fills our days with a sense of adventure and makes our time together so much more enjoyable than if we stayed home and watched TV. 

I'll conclude with pictures of us out and about at the museum today.

Life is so much easier with self-feeders and a double umbrella stroller!

Jack and Maddie taking turns driving the tractor.



Maddie, James, and Amelia admiring themselves,

before it turned into a wrestling match.

Exploring colors, shapes, and textures

Jackson discovering his new car seat has a cup holder.

“Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
― Walt Disney