What if the weather wasn’t the problem — just our mindset about it?
Join bestselling author and nature advocate Linda McGurk for a down-to-earth conversation about outdoor play, child development, and how to make time in nature part of your family’s everyday rhythm no matter the weather, your schedule, or where you live.
Linda shares her approach to friluftsliv, the Scandinavian tradition of open-air living, and how it can help children thrive emotionally, physically, and even socially. Together, we talk about:
- What friluftsliv really means and why it’s so powerful for modern families
- How to handle cold (or hot!) weather with practical, affordable gear
- Why cold air doesn’t cause sickness and how time outside actually supports immunity
- Simple ways to make nature a priority even in cities or tight schedules
- The cultural shifts that make it harder for families to get outside and how to push back
- Adapting the “there’s no bad weather” mindset in a world of climate change and unpredictability
You’ll also hear honest answers to real parent questions, plus thoughtful tips for making outdoor time work for different ages, energy levels, and seasons of life.
This is for you if you’ve ever felt like outdoor time is important but just out of reach. Linda’s perspective will help you see what’s possible and how to make it work in your real life.
In this video
Rain, cold mornings or living in a city can keep a family indoors, and Linda Åkeson McGurk's talk is about getting outside anyway. It is for parents and teachers of young children, and takes up friluftsliv, the Scandinavian tradition of open-air living. It covers how to dress kids for the weather and whether cold air causes colds. There are forest school ideas for toddlers at home, and a part on telling healthy risk from real hazard. It ends with getting teens outside too.
Chapters
- 0:00 Friluftsliv, the open-air life, and why kids need it
- 6:29 The OUT mantra for getting outside in any weather
- 10:12 What to wear outside: three layers, outer layer first
- 16:14 Cold air doesn't cause colds, and finding nature in a city
- 21:19 Getting kids of all ages outside together on family trips
- 25:22 Attitudes to outdoor play and how to start changing them
- 29:53 Bad air, heat, and telling healthy risk from real hazard
- 36:35 Forest school ideas you can use at home with toddlers
- 40:11 Outdoor time with teens, and why screen rules got stricter
