Forest Bathing for Families: How Nature Restores Calm
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Yesterday as I pulled into a forest parking area a car arrived at exactly the same time as me and we awkwardly maneuvered around each other to eventually share the same space. As I got my dog out for a walk I noticed a whole bunch of children bouncing out of the car, donned in wellies and warm coats and it reminded me how accessible a day like that can be, almost anywhere in the world. It reminded me that when things got overwhelming when my son was little it became a reflex action, as bodily known as blinking, to step outside and get into the trees. Now he's grown, nature is still his place for play and connection and I have such wonderful memories of our forest time.
Forest Bathing for Families: How Nature Restores Calm
In the busyness of modern parenthood, finding calm often feels out of reach. Between work, school runs, meals, and the constant stream of responsibilities, many parents feel pulled in every direction. One powerful yet simple way to restore balance lies just beyond our doorsteps: nature. Specifically, the practice of forest bathing.
What Is Forest Bathing?
Despite the name, forest bathing doesn’t involve water or swimsuits. Originating from Japan and known as shinrin-yoku, forest bathing is the practice of immersing yourself in the sights, sounds, and sensations of nature. It’s less about hiking for exercise and more about slowing down, noticing, and being present. And who better to show us how to do this than our children! Research shows that spending mindful time among trees can lower stress hormones, reduce anxiety, improve sleep, and regulate the nervous system.
Why Forest Bathing Works for Parents
Parents often live in a heightened state of alert—constantly anticipating needs, juggling tasks, and managing emotions (our own and our children’s). This ongoing stress can keep the nervous system stuck in “fight-or-flight” mode. Forest bathing helps interrupt that cycle. The natural environment offers a sensory reset: soft birdsong, the rustle of leaves, earthy scents, shifting light through the trees. These gentle stimuli send safety signals to the body, encouraging a state of rest and calm.
Making Forest Bathing a Family Practice
The beauty of forest bathing is that it’s accessible to everyone, even with children in tow. Here are some ideas for weaving it into family life:
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Slow Walks Together: Instead of rushing, let children set the pace. Notice the shapes of leaves, the colours of bark, or the sound of crunching steps. Even twenty minutes at the pace of a child can feel like therapy if you soften into it.
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Sensory Games: Ask your children, “What can you hear right now?” or “Can you find something soft, something rough, something smooth?” And join in too!
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Quiet Moments: Encourage everyone to pause, close their eyes, and take three deep breaths. Notice how the air feels different outdoors.
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Collecting Treasures: Sticks, acorns, leaves and stones can be gathered and played with, take some time to create a pattern or picture, if you start your children will most likely be drawn in or take a natural object or photo of it home as gentle reminders of your time in nature.
Tips for Parents
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You don’t need a vast forest, local parks, wooded paths, or even tree-lined streets can be enough.
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Keep it simple. Even 10–15 minutes can shift your nervous system.
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Release the idea of “perfect calm.” Children may run, chatter, or explore loudly, and that’s okay. Their natural curiosity is part of the process which can lead to healing, assimilation and fun.
The Gift of Nature
Forest bathing isn’t another task to add to your parenting list, it’s an invitation to slow down and reconnect, with yourself and with your family. In nature’s quiet embrace, your nervous system finds space to breathe, your children know presence, let them guide you to be in the moment, and together you experience moments of calm that ripple back into daily life.
Because sometimes the most powerful therapy isn’t complicated, it’s as simple as stepping into the trees.