After a month without TV, we’re trying something different. Instead of taking something away, we’re getting outside.
For the last month, we focused on not watching TV. No TV September started as a way to get our kids away from screens and see what would happen when TV wasn’t always an option.
But somewhere along the way, it brought up another feeling for me: I should be doing more with my boys.
I usually go hiking by myself about twice a week. It’s one of the few times when everything seems to quiet down. I can think, recharge and just walk. There’s something about simply being outside that does that for me.
And lately I’ve realized that I’m not sharing enough of that with my boys.
Somehow, Inside Became the Easier Choice
We’ve built plenty of reasons for them to be outside. There’s a rock box, a playground, a climbing dome and even an airplane teeter-totter.
And yet, more and more, they’d rather stay inside and play with their toys.
There’s nothing wrong with that. I love watching them play with their toys and use their imaginations. But I don’t want inside to become the automatic choice.
I want them to discover some of the things I love about being outside. I want hiking, exploring, getting dirty and playing in the backyard to feel exciting again.
After spending September taking something away, we’re going to spend October adding something back.
We’re going outside.
Welcome to The Great Outside Challenge
For the next month, I’m going to find a way to get my boys outside every weekday. That’s really the whole challenge.
I don’t care if we’re outside for an hour or 15 minutes. We might hike, play a game, dig in the rock box, go to the playground or invent something completely ridiculous in the backyard.
Some days I might have a great plan. Other days I might just open the door.
I’m not starting October with 30 perfectly planned outdoor activities. That’s not how life with two little boys works.
The goal isn’t to complete a checklist. The goal is to make outside fun again.
The Rules Are Pretty Simple
I’m deliberately keeping The Great Outside Challenge easy enough that we can actually do it.
Get outside every weekday.
That’s the rule.
Fifteen minutes counts. Playing in the backyard counts. Going to the playground counts. A hike counts. Digging in the dirt counts. Standing outside while the boys invent some game that makes absolutely no sense to me counts.
I’m sure I’ll come up with activities along the way, but I don’t want this to become another project where Dad spends an hour preparing something the kids abandon five minutes later.
Sometimes I’m going to provide the entertainment. Sometimes I’m going to let them figure it out. Either way, we’re going outside.
We Picked an Interesting Month to Try This
October isn’t exactly the easiest month to make this happen. We’ll have nice fall days, but we’ll also have cold mornings, shorter days and probably plenty of rain.
There will be days when the boys don’t want to go outside. There will probably be days when I don’t want to go outside.
Luckily, we’re also taking a family road trip this month. We’ll go from beaches to mountains, with plenty of opportunities to hike, explore and experience completely different places along the way.
I’m guessing those will be the easy days. I’m more interested in what happens when we come home—when it’s cold, when it’s raining, when everyone is tired and when the toys inside look a lot more appealing than putting on shoes and heading into the backyard.
That’s when I’m going to need some improvisation and probably an enormous amount of creativity.
I Want to Take My Boys Hiking Again
There’s another reason I want to do this: I miss hiking with my boys.
I still hike. In fact, my solo hikes have become an important part of my week. They’re quiet and peaceful, and they give me a chance to organize my thoughts and recharge.
But somewhere along the way, I stopped bringing the boys very often.
I don’t want to give up those solo hikes. I think that time is good for me. But it doesn’t have to be one or the other.
After finally taking one of my boys fishing, I want to start sharing the trail with them again, too. I want them to climb over roots, find weird rocks, stop because they saw something interesting and experience some of the reasons I fell in love with being outside in the first place.
Maybe October helps us get back there.
I Don’t Expect This to Be Perfect
If No TV September taught me anything, it’s that family challenges don’t happen the way you imagine they will.
The boys will probably fight this sometimes. They’ll probably fight each other sometimes. I’ll come up with games that I think are brilliant and they’ll want absolutely nothing to do with them.
We’ll probably have days when we barely make it outside, and I’m okay with that. I’m not trying to create 31 picture-perfect outdoor adventures. I’m trying to change the default just a little.
Maybe we’ll discover a new backyard game. Maybe they’ll start asking to go outside. Maybe I’ll start taking them hiking more often. Maybe they’ll find another way to entertain themselves that doesn’t involve a screen, just like the library became one of our favorite screen-free options.
Or maybe we’ll discover something I haven’t thought of yet. That’s part of why I want to do this.
Follow The Great Outside Challenge
Every week, I’ll share the ups and downs of The Great Outside Challenge. I’ll share the games that worked, the ones that completely failed, our bigger adventures and the ordinary days when getting 15 minutes of fresh air was enough.
And at the end of October, we’ll look back and see whether anything actually changed.
I’m not trying to turn my boys into little outdoorsmen in a month. I just want to help them enjoy being outside again—and maybe remind myself to bring them along a little more often.
THE GREAT OUTSIDE CHALLENGE
October 2026
Let’s go outside.
Dads, let’s go.
