Author's blog featured at C&NN Connect

Hikes with Tykes author Rob Bignell's article "Another good reason for kids to hike: Develop character and skills" was among Wednesday's Featured Blog Posts at C&NN Connect. The article suggests that hiking is a good way for kids to learn patience, goal setting, self-sufficiency and self-confidence, all while increasing their attention spans. C&NN Connect is run by the Children & Nature Network, which encourages children's outdoor play and connecting with nature.

Free booklet promotes child-parent bond

The Children & Nature Network has just released a new booklet about developing parent-child interactions that promote and sustain good attachment via nature-based experiences. "Together in Nature: Pathways to a Stronger, Closer Family" is a free and downloadable from the C&NN website. Says C&NN chair and co-founder Dr. Martha Farrell Erickson, a developmental psychologist, “By following a prescription for more nature experience together, families will discover a win/win situation in which both children and adults benefit as individuals, even as they are strengthening those important family bonds that all children (and adults) need.” This philosophy is at the heart of the "Hikes with Tykes" book series: That the primary reason to hike with children is to reinforce, develop and strengthen the child-parent bond. Let me add here that I sometimes blog for C&NN.

Read more about day hiking with children in the guidebook Hikes with Tykes.