Ickworth House - Exploration with the National Trust

If you follow me over on Instagram, you will see it's littered with pictures of my children and our family on adventures. They love to be outdoors and so do we. There is nothing more beautiful and heart warming than seeing them outside exploring, together. Even in our garden, they've taken to bug hunting. I often see Henry laying on the grass talking to a little slug. Saying "hello sluuug" over and over again getting more and more perplexed because he's not getting a response. It's literally adorable.  

The National Trust has run research revealing that it is in fact our grandparents generation that is the most wild of all, with three quarters (76%) saying they were far more adventurous and daring in their youth compared to both their children and grandchildren – with half (51%) confessing to have never even seen their grandchildren climb a tree! I'm pretty sure our parents will say that my two are very adventurous, in fact, my mum (and I) always get nervous as they are just so carefree! 

The research also found that:

• Children today spend 57% less time exploring outdoors than their parents and grandparents did – on average just 1 hour 20 mins a day, vs. 2 hours 40 mins (parents) and 3 and a half hours a day (grandparents)

• 87% of parents and grandparents said they enjoy seeing the little ones running wild and carefree, with 80% enjoying seeing them playing outdoors away from technology devices

• Nearly half (49%) of grandparents take on the role of childminding more than twice a week to support parents, with this increased during the school holidays by almost two-thirds of grandparents (61%)

I find the statistics so upsetting, it's a shame that we don't seem to get out and about as much as older generations and often wonder if it's the fast paced life we seem to lead. There are times when I feel we're constantly running around. The school run, pick ups, dance class the list goes on but during the summer everything slows down and I feel it's the perfect opportunity to get outside.

The National Trust’s ‘50 Things To Do Before You’re 11 ¾’ initiative aims to encourage families to get outdoors and enjoy spending time together and it's something I really support. 

A couple of weeks back my mum and I took the children to Ickworth House, a beautiful National Trust location for the chance to let the children run free and explore. It was such a lovely day out and well worth a visit and I'm tempted to buy a family year pass with the National Trust too - I know my kids would love to explore further afield. 

Mummy B xoxox

*Collaborative Post