February may be the shortest month of the year (even during a leap year) but with small children, it can feel like the longest.

The days are short and cold. Kids invariably outgrow their snow pants and snow boots with just a few months of winter left, and whether new ones will fit in the fall is anyone’s guess. Getting small children into winter gloves, hats and warm clothes takes about as long as the same kids will last outside. And really, can I blame them? How long can I last in sub-zero windchill? We may be hardy stock in Wyoming, but we can only take so much.

My teacher sister texted me from southern Colorado the other day. It was freezing, she said, and the kids were having inside recess. So were ours! I asked the temperature, and she said it was 27 degrees. For us, with no wind chill, that’s nearly a heat wave.

Fresh air, space and connection to the earth soothes even the smallest among us. Children who play outside are physically healthier, have increased attention spans and in general, have a stronger immune system. Each fall, I buy my children a six-pack of warm socks, which they will outgrow before the winter is over, and make sure they each have a solid base layer of long underwear. Even if we only get outside for a few minutes a day, on a cloudless winter day, the sunshine is divine.

It’s been years, but I once read an article about playground equipment in urban areas that had “risk” built into it: Ledges without railing, slides with smaller than average sides. I’m not sure if this idea ever took off, but so much of childhood today is indoor and artificially safe, composed of curated experiences inside adventure businesses and on screens. There is a place for that kind of entertainment, for sure--especially when it is below zero--but children also need to learn outside. The idea behind the playground was to help children develop an inherent sense of danger, to learn to gauge for themselves the risk in front of them. Some children are too little to do this: Obviously, this is not the playground for a toddler. But for older children, giving them the freedom to be outside, the freedom to judge their surroundings and their capability, and letting them know they have your trust can be a true confidence booster.

Across the nation, educators are developing forest schools and adventure clubs designed to open the door to nature for children, in the hope of creating a lifelong love of the outdoors in American children, who spend an average of three hours a day watching television. 

In Wyoming, we don’t really need playgrounds with risk built in. We have the entire state filled with opportunity for unstructured play, rain, snow or shine. Though it can be hard, there are tricks: Organize a playdate, and plan it outside, even in the snow. Bring sleds and a thermos of hot chocolate. Go on a snowy nature hunt just you and your family, and look for things that might stand out from the snow: Anything that is not white, perhaps. Make art in the snow by filling spray bottles with food coloring and water, or make snow ice cream with freshly fallen snow, milk and honey. 

And while it may all of my effort on a cold day, it’s always worth it. Once I’m outside with my children, their mood improves—and so does mine.

About Carrie Haderlie
Carrie Haderlie is a Wyoming native and freelance writer who has called the northeastern, southern and central parts of the state home. She is married with three children.

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