![[camping-feature-image.png]] My family settled on camping for a number of reasons. ## It's Cheap This may be our original reason, and it holds true. It is easy to go down the rabbit hole of any passtime and blow wads of cash. However, [[Camping is Possible on a Budget]], especially if you do so accasionally and feel no need to have name brand gear. Fun per dollar is really high compared to other passtimes. ## It's Accessible We live in North Carolina. While I wouldn't say the Raleigh area is a cornucopia of amazing outdoor treasures (I grew up in Tennessee), in a few hours in any direction we have some pretty great options. To the east, we run into the Outer Banks, which provides unique beach camping options. To the west, we find a true outdoor playground as we head into Appalachia. Both destinations are plenty accessible for a weekend trip. For a spur of the moment experience, Raleigh does have some decent state parks with good camping options. We are minutes from Falls Lake and its multiple camping options. ## It's Healthy Not all recreation is created equal, and it seems wise to choose pass times that are good beyond the enjoyment factor. ### Healthy Physically When it comes to health, the physical benefits through exercise and outdoor activity are obvious. Hiking is good for you. Biking, paddling, and exploring are all good forms of physical exercise. Of course, the kinds of hiking I enjoyed in my mid-twenties (or would likely enjoy now) are not suitable for small children. It is a mistake, though, to think small children cannot hike or camp. [[Little Kids Can Hike]]. We've discovered this firsthand. It does take some patience and dedication to growing them toward the goal. ### Healthy Emotionally I'm leaning on research here, but we are convinced outdoor activities where our children (and my wife and I) unplug are good for our emotional health. We still have no idea what the social web hath rought, but it's been around long enough that it we are seeing glimpses of it's negative impact. This is not an argument against social media or screens for kids. There are obvious benefits, and I don't want to argue that. However, the social web has seeped so far into every corner of our life that we run the very real risk of losing the benefits that come from being away from it. Plenty of studies demonstrate the benefits of being in nature for your emotional health.[^1] Nature makes children happy.[^2] It is good for parents to walk outdoors with their children.[^3] Beyond the research, this seems like common sense. Our whole family suffers from being cooped up indoors most of the day. Getting outside is good for all of us, and the challenge is dedicating the time to do so. Using our family recreation time as a means to do so just make sense. The positive benefits of being outside are not our only concern. A growing body of evidence directly connects use of the social web and a loss of play-based childhood with a litany of negative effects for children. The best exhaustive treatment of this issue at present is Jonathan Haidt's, *[The Anxious Generation](https://amzn.to/4mDuXrg)*.[^4] Haidt marshals extensive sociological research to support his argument that a phone-based existence for children is actively unhealthy for their emotional state. Furthermore, Haidt claims a shift in social norms caused parents to not let their kids roam and explore unsupervised. Free play is now replaced with a long list of scheduled activities where parents can keep close supervision of their children. I'm persuaded by Haidt's argument, and we are attempting to correct this as much as possible with our focus on outdoor recreation. ### Healthy Spiritually? This one may be a stretch, but I'm willing to consider it. I am sure it is possible to create many opportunities for spiritual formation through any number of activities. This is not an argument that kids aren't spiritually formed through sports leagues on even activities on a computer. Instead, I'm merely stating that outdoor recreation seems like low-hanging fruit for spiritual formation. God's creation makes an easy labratory for forming your children spiritually. After all: >The heavens declare the glory of God, >and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands. >Day after day they pour out speech; >night after night they communicate knowledge. >There is no speech; there are no words; >their voice is not heard. >Their message has gone out to the whole earth, >and their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1–4) And: >Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; >let the sea and all that fills it resound. >Let the fields and everything in them celebrate. >Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy >before the Lord, for he is coming— >for he is coming to judge the earth. (Psalm 96:11–13) [^1]: Pasanen, T.P., Tyrväinen, L. and Korpela, K.M. (2014) ‘The Relationship between Perceived Health and Physical Activity Indoors, Outdoors in Built Environments, and Outdoors in Nature’, _Applied Psychology: Health & Well-Being_, 6(3), pp. 324–346. doi:10.1111/aphw.12031. [^2]: Tillmann, S. _et al._ (2019) ‘“Nature makes people happy, that’s what it sort of means:” children’s definitions and perceptions of nature in rural Northwestern Ontario’, _Children’s Geographies_, 17(6), pp. 705–718. doi:10.1080/14733285.2018.1550572. [^3]: Izenstark, D. _et al._ (2021) ‘The affective and conversational benefits of a walk in nature among mother–daughter dyads’, _Applied Psychology: Health & Well-Being_, 13(2), pp. 299–316. doi:10.1111/aphw.12250. [^4]: Haidt, Jonathan. [The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness](https://amzn.to/4mDuXrg). New York: Penguin Press, 2024.