Rain or Shine Mamma

There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes

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Supporting Your Child’s Sensory Differences Outdoors

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Read my full disclosure policy here.
March 3, 2022 By Linda McGurk

By Kristin Palen, OTR/L

The plans are made, it’s a beautiful day and everything is ready. But there is one problem, your child doesn’t want to go outside! Maybe it’s the clothing layers, the gloves, the wind, the rain, the cold, or the heat holding them back.  Neither you nor they may know the barrier, but it’s evident something is impeding their participation outside. It can be so frustrating as a parent, especially when you know how much your child enjoys being outdoors.  

Sensory Processing Differences That May Impact Participation In Outdoor Activities

From feeling the warm sun on your face; to the cool breeze across your body; hearing the soft “tweet” of a bird, or feeling the earth between your finger’s, nature provides a full body sensory experience.  

Sensory processing is your ability to take in sensory information from the environment, organize, interpret and then carry out a response (Miller et al., 2021). We all process sensory information differently and may be over responsive (over sensitive) or under responsive (under sensitive) to sensory input. Many of us are able to adjust our response to sensory input; but sometimes sensory differences may impede one’s participation in their everyday activities.  

There are many sensory differences negatively impacted by the weather which may be contributing to your child’s hesitancy to go outside. Here are a few you may observe:

Interoceptive Awareness is your sense of internal body functions (temperature, thirst, heart rate, respiratory rate, hunger, etc.) that provide information of how your body feels inside (Miller et al, 2021). Some children may have an over responsivity to interoceptive awareness related to temperature which may cause colder and hotter outdoor temperatures to cause discomfort. On the contrary, if they have an under responsivity to temperature, they may not be as aware of the outdoor temperatures.

Tactile (touch) sensitivity is an over responsivity (over sensitivity) to tactile input. A child with tactile sensitivity may have difficulty wearing different clothing due to the texture, or the feeling of the fabric against their body; this may prevent them from wearing the appropriate clothing outside. Additionally, the feeling of the wind, rain or snow, touching things outside, and/or stepping on various surfaces can be aversive.

Sensory Based Motor Differences are related to postural control and a child’s ability to recognize where their body is in space (proprioceptive awareness) and how to move their body in space (vestibular awareness); as well as how to plan their motor actions. Children challenged in this area tend to display less control of their body, thus extra layers of clothing inhibiting their mobility may contribute to limited participation in outdoor activities.  

Auditory sensitivity is an over responsivity to auditory information. A child with an over responsiveness to auditory input may be anxious to head outside if the wind is howling, if the trees are crackling or if they step on various landscapes when walking outside.  

Visual sensitivity is an over responsivity to visual sensory information. A child with an over responsiveness to visual input may avoid being out in the bright sun, and the sun glaring over fresh snow may be especially aversive.

All of these factors may be contributing to your child’s avoidance of getting outside, to their discomfort of being outside and overall participation in outdoor activities. 

Investigating Your Child’s Sensory Differences Related to Weather

Now that you have an understanding of sensory differences impacted by weather, it is time to investigate. Observe your child, think about the underlying factors limiting their participation outside. Take pictures of them in their outdoor clothing and outside in various weather conditions. When your child is regulated discuss the pictures. Ask them guiding questions about the clothing, the temperature, the weather factors (wind, rain, snow, cold, hot, etc.).  From there you can identify the sensory differences and possible weather challenges contributing to your child’s reactions.

Time to Take Action: 7 Steps to Supporting Your Child With Sensory Differences to Enjoy All Weather

  1. Teach your child about the weather: Read books about the weather, tell stories, observe the weather, discuss the clothing, and do weather experiments. This will help your child understand the weather and how it relates to their sensory experiences. 
  2. Teach your child to attune to their body signals: Teach your child to do body checks by identifying how each body part feels outside.  For example, “Do my arms feel stiff or relaxed?”, “How does my skin feel?”, “How does my face feel against the wind?”, etc. for your child to identify natures impact on their sensory systems.  
  3. Establish regulating sensory strategies: Identify what activities are most regulating for your child, such as getting a big bear hug, dancing, climbing trees, riding bikes, etc.  Whatever it is, set them up for success by participating in regulating activities prior to heading outside, when outside and as needed if they become distressed outside.  
  4. Develop accommodations and adaptations: Experiment with different clothing layers, hats, sunglasses, jackets, places outside to play, etc. to find works best. Provide them with visual supports such as pictures of clothing, where you will go, and a plan if you become disrupted weather.
  5. Establish boundaries and self-advocacy:  Encourage your child to advocate for themselves by expressing their feelings and establish boundaries when going outside. Such as a certain wind strength to be comfortable in, the heaviness of the rain, or establish what temperature you can safely play in outside, etc. This gives your child more autonomy over an unpredictable situation like the weather.  
  6. Practice and Role Play: Once you come up with a plan of your accommodations, adaptations, boundaries and clothing, practice with your child! You can try this with puppet shows, roll playing, drawing pictures, and/or telling stories of the preparations needed to go outside and what you will do once outside.  
  7. Practice positive mindset:  Having a positive mindset is of the utmost importance when enjoying the outdoors in all weather.  Model, demonstrate and practice with your child. Make a list of the things you can do in all different kinds of weather, then you have a plan of what you can do no matter the weather outside.

Don’t let sensory differences get in the way! It might take a little more practice and preparation but by following the above steps you will have your child outside exploring nature in all weather! If your child continues to struggle in this area, an evaluation with an occupational therapist may be beneficial to assess your child’s sensory processing skills.  

Reference: Miller, L. H., Porter, L. M., & Bialer, D. S. (2021). No Longer a Secret: Second Edition. Sensory World.

About Kristin:

Kristin Palen, OTR/L is an occupational therapist with over 19 years of experience solely in pediatrics.  Kristin is the owner of Coastal Connections Pediatric Therapy, in the Outer Banks North Carolina. Her practice provides direct nature based occupational therapy services, virtual parent coaching and masterclasses coming soon. In addition to being an OT Kristin is also a homeschool mom. Being part of a neurodiverse family Kristin particularly enjoys supporting and coaching fellow neurodiverse homeschool families to adapt, accommodate and meet the needs of their unique children. Find out more about Kristin’s practice here and follow her on Instagram.

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Filed Under: Outdoor Play 2 Comments

Comments

  1. Angie Quantrell says

    March 16, 2022 at 10:36 am

    Excellent post! I wish I had known this when my son was little, but I’m thankful that we did so many of these things. Now his son has some of the same sensory differences. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Linda McGurk says

      March 23, 2022 at 6:43 am

      Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I think it’s always valuable to hear some insights from somebody who works with these issues on a daily basis.

      Reply

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A school in Sydney bans the children from using the playground before school, saying the decision was made to "support positive classroom behaviour and learning." But did anybody bother to actually look into the research on the benefits of outdoor play, both in terms of children's ability to focus and their academic performance...? The parents aren't happy about the decision and I understand why. ... See MoreSee Less

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📚📚📚Book Cover Reveal📚📚📚A few years ago, I did a poll in my social media channels to see what topic you’d like me to explore in my next book. One of them won by an overwhelming margin: the Nordic outdoor tradition friluftsliv. Well, I heeded your call. I’m pleased to share that it’s now possible to pre-order The Open-Air Life: Discover the Nordic Art of Friluftsliv and Embrace Nature Every Day from just about any place that sells books! The Open-Air Life is for anybody who is longing to lead a simpler, happier and less hurried life. It shows you how to channel the power of nature connection to improve your physical and mental health, as well as your relationship with both other people and Mother Nature. Plus, you’ll learn a few party tricks, like lighting a campfire without matches and cleaning water on the go. At a time when more and more people are starting to appreciate why they should spend more time outside, this book will show you how, with a decidedly Nordic twist.I must say that I LOVE this dreamy cover that the designers at @penguinrandomhouse created. What do you think? Pre-order The Open-Air Life here to support local book stores: bookshop.org/a/79880/9780593420942 ... See MoreSee Less
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It’s TICK season…🕷 (I know that’s a spider emoji, but you get the idea😅)A lot of people freak out at the sight of these blood suckers and understandably so, considering the diseases they can harbor. But they too are a part of nature and if we want to keep venturing outside during the warmer months (I definitely do and I suspect you do too) we must come to terms with them.If you want to know more about tick prevention, I just wrote a pretty detailed post about it on my blog. Head over to rainorshinemamma.com to learn more and share this post with others who worry about ticks!👌🏻________________________#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #friluftsliv #ticks #tickprevention ... See MoreSee Less
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I missed a meeting Sunday night😬 An informal meeting, yes, but still…I take pride in being dependable and prompt, and I hate to be flakey. I’d like to think that it was because I got distracted when my daughter called from my mom’s house and said she was running a fever, but in reality I got sidetracked well before that. Weekends are my time to zone out from schedules, emails and social media, and spend more time outside, especially this time of the year. So I missed a meeting. But I gained a quiet paddle through pastel waters as the sun slowly descended below the spruces on the horizon. __________________________#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #sup #standuppaddle #sweden #sweden_photolovers #sweden_images ... See MoreSee Less
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Linda Åkeson McGurk
There are a lot of good things about tech, but exc There are a lot of good things about tech, but excessive screen time is taking a toll on children’s physical and mental health today. Many apps and games have built-in mechanisms designed to make them highly addictive and children are even more susceptible to them than adults, since their brains are not fully developed🧠Screens are so ubiquitous in our lives today that it takes conscious effort to balance them with experiences IRL. 

For the past few years, our family has experimented with screen free or screen reduced Sundays. I’m not going to pretend that it’s easy. But if the goal is to increase quality family time outdoors and encourage the kind of creativity that arises from a healthy dose of boredom, it does work🌳

Some other tips to foster a healthy screen time culture in your family are:

✅ Learn how to use the parent controls on your kids’ devices and set age-appropriate limits.

✅ Have certain times or spaces that are always screen free, for example around the dinner table, in the bedrooms and so on, and be sure to be consistent. 

✅ Create a buy-in for the kids by letting them help plan screen free activities for the whole family.

What’s your biggest obstacle when it comes to keeping screen time under control?
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That about sums it up, doesn’t it?☺️ This qu That about sums it up, doesn’t it?☺️ This quote is from Meet the Wild, a new picture book by Lindsay Kellar-Madsen of @the.madsen.littles. Inspired by the outdoor learning and play culture in Scandinavia, Lindsay wrote the book to invite children to explore nature all year round, regardless of the weather. 
I personally love the message and sweet illustrations in this book❤️ If you have a little one in your life, you can buy the book by backing Lindsay’s Kickstarter campaign. Check out her Instagram for details!
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#meetthewild #picturebook #outdoorplay
📚📚📚Book Cover Reveal📚📚📚 A few y 📚📚📚Book Cover Reveal📚📚📚

A few years ago, I did a poll in my social media channels to see what topic you’d like me to explore in my next book. One of them won by an overwhelming margin: the Nordic outdoor tradition friluftsliv. Well, I heeded your call. I’m pleased to share that it’s now possible to pre-order The Open-Air Life: Discover the Nordic Art of Friluftsliv and Embrace Nature Every Day from just about any place that sells books! (Link in bio)

The Open-Air Life is for anybody who is longing to lead a simpler, happier and less hurried life. It shows you how to channel the power of nature connection to improve your physical and mental health, as well as your relationships with both other people and Mother Nature. Plus, you’ll learn a few party tricks, like lighting a campfire without matches and cleaning water on the go. At a time when more and more people are starting to appreciate why they should spend more time outside, this book will show you how, with a decidedly Nordic twist.

I must say that I LOVE this dreamy cover that the designers at @penguinrandomhouse created. What do you think? 

@tarcherperigee @penguinrandomhouse

#theopenairlife #rainorshinemamma #coverreveal #bookcover #friluftsliv #friluftslivbook
I took my kids on an overnight paddling trip last I took my kids on an overnight paddling trip last weekend and it started out with sunshine and rainbows☀️🌈 Swipe to the last video to see how it ended➡️ 

We had set out to explore the northernmost island in our local lake and while we cruised up there with decent tailwinds, the wind picked up overnight. Going back the next day, we faced strong headwinds the entire time🌊 

For nearly three hours, we paddled in choppy waters, with waves sometimes so high that they splashed into the canoe. We had no choice but to paddle nonstop - if we stopped, we immediately started drifting backwards😩

The thing about being outdoors is that you’re never fully in control of all parameters - trips like these always involve a certain amount of risk. The weather can change quickly, and not always according to the forecast. What we can control is our reaction to the challenge, how we act on it and what we learn from it.

While none of us was happy about the situation, the girls did pull together and did an amazing job paddling💪🏻 And while they both vowed to never go paddling again, I told them that this will make a funny story later in life. They weren’t convinced at the time but I think they’ll come around eventually😅 

Do you have any stories of getting in over your head to share?😃
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Summer is high season for TICKS…🕷 (I know tha Summer is high season for TICKS…🕷 (I know that’s a spider emoji, but you get the idea😅) 

A lot of people freak out at the sight of these blood suckers and understandably so, considering the diseases they can harbor. But they too are a part of nature and if we want to keep venturing outside during the warmer months (I definitely do and I suspect you do too) we must come to terms with them.

If you want to know more about tick prevention, I just wrote a pretty detailed post about it on my blog. Head over to rainorshinemamma.com to learn and share this post with others who worry about ticks!👌🏻
________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #friluftsliv #ticks #tickprevention
I missed a meeting Sunday night😬 An informal me I missed a meeting Sunday night😬 An informal meeting, yes, but still…I take pride in being dependable and prompt, and I hate to be flakey. 

I’d like to think that it was because I got distracted when my daughter called from my mom’s house and said she was running a fever, but in reality I got sidetracked well before that. Weekends are my time to zone out from schedules, emails and social media, and spend more time outside, especially this time of the year. 

So I missed a meeting. But I gained a quiet paddle through pastel waters as the sun slowly descended below the spruces on the horizon. An hour to myself to just be one with the lake, the light and the promise of the summer that still lies ahead☀️
__________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #sup #standuppaddle #sweden #sweden_photolovers #sweden_images
This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations @wiet This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations @wietinghannah, you’re our winner!🎊

📚📚📚GIVEAWAY📚📚📚

Have you heard the term "ecohappiness"? If not, this is your chance to learn more! 

Author Sandi Schwartz and I have teamed up to give away a copy of her book "Finding Ecohappiness," an inspirational manifesto and practical guidebook for families to get outside and enjoy nature together. Packed with ideas for outdoor activities like animal yoga, forest bathing, sit spotting, float therapy and nature art, this book is definitely one to add to your collection📕 

How to enter👇🏼
✅ Like and save this post
✅ Follow @rainorshinemamma and @getecohappiness 
✅ Comment by completing this sentence: "To me, being in nature is..."

This giveaway closes on June 4 and a winner will be selected shortly after that. You must be 18 and live in the US or Canada to enter. This giveaway is not associated with or sponsored by Instagram. 

Good luck!🙌🏽

#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #ecohappiness #findingecohappiness #naturebooks #goodreads #naturelovers #ecotherapy #getkidsoutside
Having scientific reasons and explanations for doi Having scientific reasons and explanations for doing things is good and there are any number of ways free climbing benefits our physical and mental health. But sometimes you’ve just got to trust your guts, feel all the feelings and enjoy the joyride🙌🏻🌳

What makes you feel joy in nature?
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I’m not going to lie - there are times when my c I’m not going to lie - there are times when my children’s dawdling drives me nuts. Like when they take 45 minutes to finish breakfast even though we’re running late . But I also envy their ability to be completely unhurried and present in the moment, and I realize that it’s a quality that I need to protect🐌

As parents, we need to make space for our children to play, get bored, dawdle, wander, wonder, create, sleep in, be wild and free and watch the clouds go by. Let them be where they are and not push them to achieve arbitrary milestones or condition them to think that a packed calendar is the key to success and happiness.

As always, Ginny of @1000hoursoutside is on point🙌🏻
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Did you know that camping for as little as two nig Did you know that camping for as little as two nights straight can help you reset your circadian rhythms and improve your sleep for several weeks afterwards? That's because the natural light helps the body regulate melatonin, a hormone that tells the body when it's time to get up and go, and when it's time to rest and recuperate🌗 

My melatonin levels weren't top of mind when @jeanetteosterman and I started our challenge to sleep outside at least once a month for a year. But I must say, I rarely sleep as soundly and feel as energetic as I do when I sleep under the skies.

Have you ever tried sleeping in a camping hammock? I bought my first one a few years ago and I ❤️ it!
_________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #friluftsliv #openairlife #sleepingoutside #camping #campinglife #hammock #sleepingoutsidechallenge #freshaireveryday
Raise your hand if you have a teen or tween and fe Raise your hand if you have a teen or tween and feel like you're constantly negotiating/fighting/fretting over your child's screen time👋🏼 

Well, you're not alone😰 

Since 2011, when mobile internet had its breakthrough, teens' and tweens' screen time has increased dramatically. At the same time, physical activity has decreased significantly. The WHO recommends that teenagers get at least one hour of physical activity every day, but in reality 85% of the girls and 78% of the boys globally don't meet the target.

Making outdoor activity a normal part of your daily routine can help  your tween or teen get the exercise and fresh air they need  and lay the foundation for lifelong healthy habits. I'm the first to admit that it isn't easy, but then again, nobody said parenting would be a cakewalk🤪

Hang in there and check out a few of the strategies that help me balance screen time with 'green time'. Do you have any tips to share?
______________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #parenting #parentingteens #parentingtweens #getoutside
“I’m not thrilled about looking older. But wha “I’m not thrilled about looking older. But what unsettles me the most about the 40s is the implication that I’m now a grown-up myself.”
- Pamela Druckerman

Forty-four laps around the sun today and I still find that the passing of time is one of life’s greatest mysteries.
_______________________________
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