276. Get Your Kids Outside This Winter: Overcome Challenges and Embrace the Unique Beauty of the Season | Ginny Yurich of 1000 Hours Outside

Summary

Podcast Summary: Simple Farmhouse Life – Episode 276

Title: Get Your Kids Outside This Winter: Overcome Challenges and Embrace the Unique Beauty of the Season
Guest: Ginny Yurich of 1000 Hours Outside
Release Date: February 11, 2025
Host: Lisa Bass

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Introduction

In Episode 276 of the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast, host Lisa Bass engages in a heartfelt and informative discussion with Ginny Yurich, the founder of the 1,000 Hours Outside movement. The episode delves into the importance of encouraging children to spend time outdoors during the challenging winter months, addressing common obstacles and highlighting the unique benefits that winter play offers for both children and families.

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Understanding the 1,000 Hours Outside Movement

Lisa Bass begins the conversation by introducing the core mission of the 1,000 Hours Outside initiative. As Ginny elucidates, the goal is to accumulate 1,000 hours of outdoor time within a 365-day period, a number backed by research from experts like pediatric occupational therapist Angela Hanscom and educational reformer Charlotte Mason.

Ginny Yurich [03:30]: "It's the simplest idea ever. Very, very, very, very simple. We are aiming in a 365-day period... The goal is to try and get outside for a thousand hours. It's a research-backed number."

Ginny emphasizes that while the target is 1,000 hours, any amount of outdoor time can yield significant benefits for children's development, family relationships, and overall well-being.

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The Importance of Winter Outdoor Time

The discussion highlights why winter, despite its harsh conditions, is a crucial season for outdoor activities:

1. Enhanced Visibility and Fewer Insects:

   • Winter offers clearer paths devoid of pests like mosquitoes, making hikes and outdoor play more pleasant and safer.

2. Proprioceptive Input and Physical Development:

   • Activities such as sledding, snowman building, and shoveling provide vital physical inputs that aid in children's growth and musculoskeletal development.

3. Mental Health Benefits:

   • Exposure to full-spectrum light helps regulate circadian rhythms, improving mood and energy levels even during shorter daylight hours.

Ginny Yurich [07:00]: "The ice... giving your body these inputs that you wouldn't get in other situations. That's good for growth and for development."

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Overcoming Winter Challenges

Lisa and Ginny address common challenges parents face when trying to get their children outdoors in winter:

1. Extreme Cold:

   • Understanding personal and regional tolerance to cold is essential. What feels balmy to one family might be bitterly cold to another.
   • Quote:

     Ginny Yurich [10:03]: "If you have 28 degrees and sunny, that's balmy. It starts to feel kind of cold if it drops below that, especially with wind."

2. Logistical Hurdles with Young Children:

   • Managing toddlers and babies requires strategic planning, such as investing in quality winter gear and utilizing baby carriers that retain warmth.
   • Quote:

     Ginny Yurich [14:42]: "If you're able to invest in your clothes as a mom, like full snowsuits, it makes outdoor time more feasible and comfortable."

3. Maintaining Motivation:

   • The mental aspect of pushing through discomfort is addressed by setting goals and recognizing the long-term benefits for both parents and children.
   • Quote:

     Ginny Yurich [22:40]: "You're always glad in retrospect. And it's so good for your kids. So I always say you have goals for hard things because naturally, you wouldn’t be inclined to do any of it."

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Practical Tips for Winter Outdoor Activities

The episode offers actionable advice for families aiming to embrace winter outdoor time:

1. Flexible Scheduling:

   • Adjust plans based on weather conditions, allowing for indoor activities when necessary, and seizing opportunities on milder days.
   • Quote:

     Ginny Yurich [16:07]: "Once a week and we have rotated through over the years... if it's really cold, there are indoor options like nature centers or zoos with heated exhibits."

2. Layering and Proper Gear:

   • Emphasizing the importance of dressing in layers to manage body temperature and ensure comfort during outdoor play.

3. Community and Social Interaction:

   • Encouraging families to meet with friends for outdoor activities can make the experience more enjoyable and less burdensome.
   • Quote:

     Ginny Yurich [28:12]: "Meet up with your girlfriend and bring some coffees or hot chocolate... make it special for you, too."

4. Embracing Seasonal Changes:

   • Teaching children to appreciate the unique aspects of each season fosters a deeper connection with nature and a more positive outlook on outdoor activities.

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Addressing Common Misconceptions

Ginny tackles prevalent myths that discourage outdoor time during winter, such as the belief that cold weather makes children more susceptible to illnesses. She counters these notions by pointing out the health benefits of fresh air and movement, which can, in fact, bolster the immune system.

Ginny Yurich [29:25]: "I would say that's a lot of malarkey. It's not true. Anecdotally, taking your kids out in the cold makes them healthier."

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Long-Term Benefits and Personal Reflections

Reflecting on her own experiences, Ginny shares how consistent outdoor time has enriched her family's lives over the years. She highlights the protective effect against excessive screen time and the fostering of resilient, healthy children.

Ginny Yurich [51:48]: "We've been doing it since 2011, and it has really enhanced our life. Our kids have spent over 10,000 hours outside throughout their childhoods... It has been a protective factor against excessive screen use."

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Conclusion

The episode wraps up with Ginny Yurich reiterating the profound impact that dedicated outdoor time can have on children's development and family dynamics, even amidst the challenges posed by winter. Lisa Bass underscores the importance of modeling such behaviors for children, ensuring they grow up with a balanced and enriched upbringing.

Ginny Yurich [44:40]: "Taking and finding the beauty in all of these seasons is important. Otherwise, you're just kind of wishing your whole life away because then it's winter again."

Lisa Bass encourages listeners to prioritize outdoor time, assuring them that the effort invested will yield lasting benefits for their families.

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Key Takeaways

• Prioritize Outdoor Time: Aim for a cumulative 1,000 hours outside annually, adjusting based on seasonal and personal circumstances.
• Embrace Winter's Unique Opportunities: Utilize the clear paths, physical challenges, and mental health benefits that winter offers.
• Overcome Challenges with Preparation: Invest in proper gear, maintain flexible schedules, and seek social support to make outdoor activities enjoyable.
• Debunk Myths: Understand that outdoor time in cold weather can strengthen immunity and overall health.
• Long-Term Benefits: Consistent outdoor engagement fosters healthier, more resilient children and enriched family relationships.

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For more insights and resources on simplifying your farmhouse life, visit Farmhouse on Boom or follow Lisa Bass on her YouTube Channel.

Transcript

[Lisa]

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[Jenny]

Somebody else says, what do you do if you generally dislike being outside? I read all the research, listen to podcasts, but I still itch inside the second I get hot or cold. I have toddlers who are too young to be alone. Do I just suck it up? And I guess is the answer like yes, sorry, yes.

[Lisa]

Yes. The answer is yes you do. It may never change, but you're always glad in retrospect. And it's so good for your kids. So I always say you have goals for hard things and that's why we have a goal, because I naturally would not be inclined to do any of it.

[Jenny]

My name is Lisa, mother of eight and creator of the blog and YouTube channel Farmhouse on Boom. On this podcast I like to talk about simplifying your life so you can live out your priorities. I help you learn how to cook from scratch and decorate on a budget through this podcast and my courses Simple Sourdough and the Simple Sewing Series. I also help people reach their goals from home through my business courses, Create your blog Dream and YouTube Success Academy. I will leave links to these resources in the show notes and description box below. Now let's get into the show. Welcome back to the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast. Today I'm having on Jenny from 1000 hours outside. Many of you know about her mission. In fact, a lot of you probably even track your outside hours if you haven't heard of it or even if you are well into it. I think you're going to love this discussion either way because we're going to talk about getting outside in winter, which can be challenging. So speaking about the importance of it and what it will do for you mentally might be just the push that you need. Awesome. Well, I'm really excited to have you back on. Let's chat about getting outside. Many people across the Internet know you. If they don't know you, they at least know your mission. 1000 hours outside. Maybe Sometimes it's like, okay, you're the thousand hours outside lady, right? Like that probably happens a lot. So for those who don't know the movement, which I'm sure many of our listeners already do because I've had you on before, explain what the idea is.

[Lisa]

Okay? It's the simplest idea ever. Very, very, very, very simple. We are aiming in a 365 day period. A lot of people start January 1st, but you don't have to. In a 365 day period. The goal is to try and get outside for a thousand hours. It's a research backed number. Angela Hanscom, who's a pediatric occupational therapist, talks about it. Charlotte Mason, who was from the 1800s, she talked about four to six hours for outside play whenever the weather is tolerable, which is a really important caveat. It is a research back to number. However, simply by prioritizing getting outside, whether it's a thousand hours, whether it's 400 hours because you're a single mom or you're both parents, work and you just don't have a ton of time or you just want to dabble in it. Any amount of time that you invest in simply going outside pays massive dividends for your child's development, for your family relationships and all of that. So we Say the, the premise is simple but the impact is profound.

[Jenny]

Yeah, that makes sense. And I know a lot of people actually track their hours via your app to stay on track with their goal. Of course it's winter and you're up in either Wisconsin or Michigan, right?

[Lisa]

Yep. You got a good memory. Where? Michigan.

[Jenny]

I know you're on Lake Michigan, so I couldn't remember which side. Which is a beautiful area, but it's also cold. And so we're going to talk a little bit about getting outside in the cold. I don't know about you, but we're having a really like worse winter than average, so it's especially applicable. And I know we're probably just gonna end up being like, okay, you, you layer up like there's all these solutions. But also I think the more important conversation is why is it so important? Because we know how to go outside in the winter. It's just unless we're convinced it's a really big deal, it's hard, right? Like there's no sugar coating it. You're not going to come up, you're not going to get, we can talk logistics but you're probably not going to give me something that's going to be like, okay, so now it's easy, let's just go outside, right?

[Lisa]

Yeah. I mean this isn't, it is a really interesting question because, you know, there's a couple, there's a couple trains of thought. One is you could just go outside less in the inclement weather months. And that's why we have a year long goal. It's partially just to accommodate for that. You know, if it's zero degrees and it was zero here, Fahrenheit, we're, you know, obviously in the United States, but it's zero degrees yesterday and you're not going to take out your four month old and be out there for four hours. Like that's not safe. And so I think that by having this intention of living hands on and getting outdoors, it gives some leeway to the natural seasons of life. And really that could be figurative too. I mean we all have, you know, you have your season where you have your baby, you have your season where you had your surgery, you have your season where you know your grandmother died and you're grieving and you have, you know, everyone has seasons where you just have to have a little bit of grace for yourself. And so I think that maybe that's the more important piece of the question, which is like, you know, you don't have to force it if it's like a really a crummy day and people are going to be miserable and your kids are too little, then don't do that. And then in the summer or in the spring when you go to the creek, the shallow creek, stay a little bit longer. So that's part of it. You know, I. But getting outside in the different seasons, they offer different things. And so one of the things that the winter does is it offers more visibility. Like so, you know, if you're going to go on a hike in the winter, which if you're moving, you're typically warm. So this is tricky for babies in strollers because they're not really moving or even a baby in a carrier if you have the like, if you're carrying your baby in a pack, like an ergo or something like that. And now there's like way, there's so many of the different ones. But if you're baby wearing then you can, you know, if you have a coat over top and you've got the body heat from both of you. But you know, for little ones, I mean, they might get cold because they're not walking or moving. But if your kids are older, they're three years old and they can walk on the trail, you know they're going to be warm. You're going to be pretty warm because of your body heat. So if you go out in the winter and you hike in a spot, well, first of all there's no bugs. So you know, this is a great, this is a great time of year. Like you're getting sick of getting eaten by mosquitoes. There's different places that you can go that you couldn't go otherwise. We've had that in our home where we'll go in the middle of the summer to some hike that we love and you're getting swarmed by biting flies and so you can't go to that place in that season. It's really the best time to go is in the middle of the winter. So the ice, you know, the kids who are trying to balance on the ice, the kids who are sledding, the kids who are building snowmen, all of those are like proprioceptive input. They're, they're heavy work. You know, you're pushing those huge balls of snow you're shoveling. It's giving your body these inputs that it wouldn't get in other situations. That's good for growth and for development. Obviously then it's good for your mental health. You know, full spectrum light, that's always going to be powerful. For you, even if it's just 15 minutes or it's 20 minutes, you're going to feel invigorated from that fresh air, from that cold weather. It helps your body burn, what's called brown fat, which I learned from this book called 52 Ways to Walk by Annabelle Abs. But being out in the cold actually is really good for you. So I don't know. I don't know if I really answered the question, if those are benefits, because there's some developmental things, but more so I also think you don't have to be dogmatic about it either.

[Jenny]

Yeah, no, I think that did answer the question. You brought up a lot of points about the importance of it, and I think that's the kick that we need to at least prioritize it. Now, on the zero degree days, are you trying to get outside or what's the number where you're like, let's attempt it, and what time of the day and for what amount of time during the winter?

[Lisa]

Okay. The numbers are interesting because, you know, I've got people that I follow that live in Alaska, and, you know, people that live in it just snowed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

[Jenny]

Yes.

[Lisa]

So your tolerance, I do think, is dependent on. On where you live to a degree, because I think. I don't know if this is true or not. We've got friends and family that lived in Florida, live in Florida, and they will come up to Michigan in the summer and it will be like 67 degrees. And, like, we're like, this is warm and everyone's in shorts and they're freezing. They're like, in a parka. So I would imagine that for any particular person, their range of, like, what feels awful and what feels fine is going to be different depending on what you're used to. For us in Michigan, I feel like 28 degrees and sunny is balmy. Like, that is so warm that there's sun out there. And it's 28. And if it gets underneath 28, it starts to feel kind of cold. If there's any wind that's gonna throw things off, too.

[Jenny]

Makes a huge difference.

[Lisa]

Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, there's some nuance there, but I think a lot of it depends on what your body has built up to, depending on where you live. Because, you know, to me, 28 is like, this feels so warm. It was zero yesterday. It's in the 20s today. And we're all like, it's so warm.

[Jenny]

You know, oh, we're in the same boat.

[Lisa]

Yep.

[Jenny]

It's funny you mentioned Alaska My husband has a cousin up in Skagway. And so I'll sit there on my phone in the weather app, just looking up different places, and I'm like, it has been warmer the entire winter up there than it has been where I live. So I don't know. Yeah, yeah. It totally depends. But I'm like, man, I thought they were going to have it worse than us, but absolutely not.

[Lisa]

But something that you might think is freezing, someone else might think is not, and vice versa. So I think everyone has their different threshold, and we pay attention. You know, we have a little bit of a less scheduled life so that we can pay attention to the weather. Because then if that day comes in February, let's say, and it's 40.

[Jenny]

Oh, yes.

[Lisa]

And your kids are going to be out barefoot and short, you know, you have the flexibility to go do that.

[Jenny]

Yes, we do the exact same thing. We have a flexible schedule so that if it's 45 in January, which occasionally happens, not this year, but normally, you'll get one day every couple of weeks like that, and you take full advantage. You stay outside the entire day because it's so much easier. I think that's the challenge is it's almost. In most climates, it's almost always appropriate to go outside, at least for a little bit. You watch those YouTube videos of people, like, I don't even know where, but it's like negative 20 all the time, and they just live their lives or walking on the busy streets. And you're like, what? But I think there's always a way. It's just with little kids, it's very hard. And like you mentioned, hikes are really nice for older kids. And usually what I default to doing, because I have older kids and younger kids, is I will send all the older kids outside together, and then I will stay inside with the baby and toddler. Because that's hard, right? I know it's good for them, too, but it's really challenging.

[Lisa]

Yeah, it is. It's a lot of work. But you and I both know that those seasons come quickly. So, you know, when people send in their questions or they ask things, like, one of the things that people ask a lot is. Is about when kids, you know, they're like, they're exasperated because the baby is putting things in their mouth. And that is actually a really hard stage if you go outside and you have a baby, and not all babies do it, but, you know, some of ours did and some of ours didn't, where they're constantly putting things in their mouth. So they got acorns, they've got rocks, they've got. And you're just constantly on edge. Like are they going to choke? And it's super stressful and it's kind of awful. But that period of time ends fairly quickly. You don't even really realize. And then all of a sudden you're just not having to deal with it anymore.

Right?

[Jenny]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

But you know, it really in the grand scheme of things, these are short periods of time. Like when people say my, my kid is crawling and there's snow and what am I supposed to do? Well, that's only one season. That's only a couple month period of time. It's never going to come again. By the time you're into the next winter, they're going to be walking.

[Jenny]

Right.

[Lisa]

So it, it's very, it is tricky. I mean it's really hard to get little ones outside. But I think, I do think it's worth it. I mean we felt like it was worth it and go for a little bit. It doesn't have to be super long. Involve your friends. That makes a big difference because then you know, it's more pleasurable for everyone but certainly for the parent and I think that that matters.

[Jenny]

It's funny though, because little kids, I guess some do because in the questions we had some people who were saying like my toddler cries. I have found that little kids don't seem to even notice being cold at all. Like they love being outside so much that they don't even have to be perfectly warm and they're fine. It's us who are babies about it, to be honest.

[Lisa]

Yeah. And sometimes we invest more in the kids clothing. I, you know, we did that for a couple reasons. First of all, because maybe you have a limited budget, but also because like the kids stuff is cheaper than adult, any adult size, you know. So I mean I've done that but I try and layer up or different things. But we did, you know, we tended to invest more in what the kids are wearing and so if you're able to and invest in your clothes as a mom, like I saw a mom, I was at this forest school once, we were visiting and the one of the moms, I don't know if she worked there or if she was just visiting, but she had like the full snowsuit on. Like the one that's like, like you get a little kid, it's like completely.

[Jenny]

Full onesie type of situation.

[Lisa]

Yeah. And I was like, I had never seen out in just like regular. I guess people probably wear that Skiing, but like out in just regular outdoor life in the middle of the winter. I'd never seen an adult wearing one of those. And I thought, well, that's the most brilliant thing ever. I'm sure I'm comfor toasty warm. Yeah.

[Jenny]

Right? Yes. And then you can dress for it. It's. It's totally fine. And like you said, no bugs. When it's sunny, there's no wind. You can tolerate really low temperatures and it feel very comfortable.

[Lisa]

Yeah. And it's beautiful. And all of the types of things that everyone talks about in terms of beneficial to go outside. It helps with your eyesight. You know, it gives your eyes a chance to relax because you have that long distance looking. There's a lot going on outside. Even if you're not doing some spectacular thing. It can be very simple. But you know, it's life changing.

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[Jenny]

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[Lisa]

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[Jenny]

Are you still meeting up with your. You have groups that you meet up with and you go outside and do hikes and things like that. I know. As part of your homeschool, are you meeting up all winter? Do you just kind of play it by ear as. As the weather reports come in?

[Lisa]

We've always like aimed for like a day a week to meet up with other people and to do something outside. And at this stage of life with older kids, it's. We have a little bit less flexibility. That's an interesting thing to know. I mean, when you're a mom with young kids, you're sort of wishing away the years where you have to try and get all their fingers into the. Into the.

[Jenny]

The glove.

[Lisa]

I'm for a gift of his gloves or mittens anyways. Yeah. Like, you know, like, this is awful. And you're like, at some point they're going to be able to get all this stuff on themselves, but then. Then they're busier, so it. They're never.

[Jenny]

There's never a convenient time to do this.

[Lisa]

The perfect time. Yeah. So we've always tried to, like, once a week. I mean, it was definitely more when our kids were littler and we had nothing going on, but, you know, once a week and we have rotated through over the years. A lot of the places, especially if it's really cold, that are outside, that have an indoor option.

[Jenny]

Okay.

[Lisa]

So if it's like a nature center, but you can go in for a little bit and that's where you're going to have your snack. Or if it's like the zoo and they've got a butterfly house or an amphibian house or something like that, where you can duck in for a little bit if people are really cold.

[Jenny]

Yeah, that's a good option. My sister went to the zoo recently, and she was like, we only should ever go in the winter. It was like, nobody was there. There was no lines for anything. I'm like, okay, maybe I should do.

[Lisa]

It's like you own it. It's like you own the zoo. I mean, there literally is no one there. And there tend to be a lot of buildings that you can pop in. You know, you walk for six or seven minutes, and then there's another building that you can pop in. There's one. You know, whatever the thing with the polar bears or whatever it is. And so we love that.

[Jenny]

Yeah. I think we get these ideas in our head about when it's appropriate to go outside and forget that when we have the right clothing, we can enjoy the outdoors year round. And you feel so much better when you get out there as well. Like, it seems like such a chore. How am I going to get all of these kids out the door? But it's also a choreography. Staying inside with kids and having to clean up after them constantly. What do you say to the mom? Because we had this question who. She says, I struggle to find the motivation to get all the kids dressed and ready to go outside and load them up in the car seats. In cold weather, our only option is to drive somewhere to get outdoor time.

[Lisa]

Okay. So all of the. I like all the questions were like, this is really hard. Like, every Single question was sort of like, it's hard. Every question was like, this is hard for this reason. And it is hard. I mean, that's just it. That's it. It's hard. And that's why no one is doing it. That's why the amount of outdoor play.

[Jenny]

That'S why nobody's at the zoo. That's why you own the place.

[Lisa]

That's why the amount of outdoor play has shrunk, they say, to four to seven minutes a day for American kids on average, for free play. It used to be the easier thing to send your kids outside.

[Jenny]

It still is. I think it's where. And this is a whole different conversation. And I think you and I have had it before, but we are so worried about safety that we're like, just. Just put them here, and they can, you know, after they grow up and they're not so vulnerable, they can. We can go outside, right? I mean, is that partially the issue?

[Lisa]

Yeah, I think so. I think so. And I also think, you know, it was easier when there was less to do inside. So I talked to this guy. It was really eye opening. He said he grew up in the 1960s, and he said your biggest punishment was to be told you had to stay inside. That was your biggest punishment because there was nothing to do inside. There were not, you know, people didn't have a thousand toys. They didn't have On Demand television. They didn't have video games. They didn't have any. They didn't have 300 books to choose from. Like, they didn't have that stuff. And so they would go outside. And because that's how everybody lived, there was. There weren't as many extracurricular activities. There were kids to play with, and so that was the easiest thing to do as a parent, would just be like, well, go outside. You know, there's going to be someone out there to play with, and your kid's going to be occupied. Well, now there isn't anybody else out there. I know one mom had written in a question, she's like, you know, I've. I have One child, he's 8 years old. Like, what am I supposed to do? And that is really, really tricky. It's easier because now there's so much to do inside. It's a lot more comfortable. Like, think about in the past, you know, in the 1960s, maybe you had no air conditioning, and it's super hot, and so you're going to go play outside because it's better to be out there. Well, now our homes are so temperature Controlled. So it just is hard to go outside. That's the bottom line. But it always feels worth it. It always feels worth the effort afterward. And that's kind of wild, too. You're like, well, how could it? But it does.

[Jenny]

It's kind of like a workout. And I hate to say this, I hate working out, but afterwards, it's the same thing. Yes. And I always feel that way because it takes my husband. He loves the outdoors. He's natural. Like, he has to be, not. He doesn't have to be convinced and told how hard. Whatever. It's easy for him. He loves going outside, and so he'll want to do these big hikes in the winter. And I'm always like, you know, Right. But then after we get out and we're all out there and we're bundled up and we're walking around, and there's a little bit of a frozen creek here to kind of walk over, and it's beautiful. And there's. There's deer running through the woods. It feels great. It's fine. And so I think it is that, like, somebody else says, what do you do if you generally dislike being outside? I read all the research, listen to podcasts, but I still itch inside the second I get hot or cold. I have toddlers who are too young to be alone. Do I just suck it up? And I guess is the answer like, yes, Sorry, yes.

[Lisa]

Yes. The answer is, yes, you do. Yes. I like that the answer is, sorry, yes. That's better than just saying, yes. We're so sorry. But the answer is, yeah, you do. And I. And I don't necessarily even think it will change. You know, I don't. I don't think that, you know, if you're a person that's like. And I'm the same. I'm like, okay, you're gonna put this time into working out. I don't think you ever really become this person that's like, yes. I mean, you know. Right? And it's the same thing. It may never change, but you're always glad in retrospect. And it's so good for your kids. So I always say, like, you only have goals for hard things. I don't have a goal for, like, I really hope this year to eat 600 bags of Doritos or. You know what I'm saying, Like, I have a goal. You don't have goals for that kind of stuff, but you do have goals for things that are hard. And that's why we have a goal. Because I naturally would not Be inclined to do any of it.

[Jenny]

Right. Yeah. Well. And having raising kids is hard in general. And so it's just another thing that once you do it, you will be glad that you did. Well, we can talk logistics a bit. Even though, like I said, I think in a lot of ways, we just have to convince ourselves that this is something that we should do. It's important. Oh, I know what I was going to say. I was going to say that not going outside in the winter, at least this is how it feels for me. It almost is like making this season a season to get through instead of a season to enjoy. Like, it's okay, I'll go outside when it's warm. I'm just going to get through it. Like, we're just going to basically waste away this season of life because it's awful. I hate it. And honestly, I fall into this a lot, But I feel like getting outside and enjoying actually around you everything that winter is, is not just getting through, but actually embracing.

[Lisa]

Yeah. And what a thing to model to your kids. My view on it changed after reading Linda McGurk's book. There's no such thing as Bad Weather is a really good book. And in that book, she did talk about all of the special things that each season provides that the other ones don't. And it totally changed my perspective. Like, freezing things is really fun, and playing with ice is really fun. And people do elaborate things, Lisa. Like, they'll make these cool igloos all out of ice blocks, and they'll make them out of snow, these igloos, and they'll make forts. And you just think, like, it's such an open canvas to have this ice and this snow. And what changed my view was years ago, you know, we're posting our winter things, and you're kind of wishing it awake. That's cold. And then it gets mucky. And you. You know, it's a lot of work to get the kids ready. And then people started to say, I wish I lived there. And because they saw. They saw all these, like, sledding pictures and the kids are going over jumps, and it's. I mean, it's so fun. And I think there are some really beautiful parts. It is very hard. If you have maybe a child that's. I'd say. I would say probably under two, you know, I mean, this is tricky. But also maybe if you can pull them down the sled. On the sled, down your sidewalk. If there's a lot of snow. I mean, you look at the kids faces they're like in their glory. I mean it's so special for them. So I think just looking around and saying what, what does this season offer that the other ones don't? And trying to embrace it on the best weather days that you have that week or that month. And I think that that does model a lot of things to our kids.

[Jenny]

Yeah, you were mentioning the things we can only do in the winter. We've been doing a lot of ice skating because it's gotten so cold here. We don't usually have where little farm ponds will freeze up enough like safety wise. But they have. And so we have taken full advantage with hockey and ice skating. And I think the kids are going to have some really great memories from that. Another mom talked about how they have to drive somewhere to get the kids outside. I know we talked about this last time you were on, but why do we think. Because, you know, right now I'm living in town. We have a property we're building on. Currently I'm living right in town. And so there isn't any place exceptional. But there's still a way to get outside. I guess. Let's speak a little bit to that feeling. Like there has to be this grand outing in order to get outside.

[Lisa]

Yeah, that comes up a lot too, like city country. And I think that there is this. It's suburbs. Right. These are the three options people talk a lot about. Well, I'm in a city and if I only lived in the country. But if you lived in the country, there would be no friends to play with. So, you know, there's. Yeah, there's pros and cons to all of it. I just went and visited someone in Toronto and like the, the park was, you know, like you walked six minutes, it was down the street and there's like kids everywhere, people out walking dogs. It was like this really cool walkable city. So I think all of that, the movement. Mark Sisson just wrote a book called Born to Walk. It's phenomenal about how walking is just like the ultimate human activity. So if you have any place where you can walk, where you can move your body, that's going to give you the benefits that you need for you and for your kids. It does not have to be. I mean, 98% of what we do is just like in this flat little area of Michigan that we're in. And it's just good enough. It's good enough. And the seasons give it variability. That's the cool thing about seasons. If you're staying in the same area 98% of the time. Well, it's going to change. It's not going to be the same. There's going to be different creatures that you see, different types of weather. And, you know, if you have to drive somewhere, you know, I know that's tricky too, right. You're going to have to probably, because you can't have them buckled in, in their coats. You're going to have to put all that stuff in a bag and you're going to have to. So to that person, I would say have a friend with you. If you do that on your own, you're going to be miserable because it's so much work and there's not going to be as much payoff for you as the parent. But if you meet up with your girlfriend, you know, and you guys can bring some coffees that you like or hot chocolate in your water bottle, whatever, like, make it special for you, too, so that it feels worth the effort to go and do that. And maybe just do it once or twice a week. Maybe do it on the weekend if your husband's home and you've got an extra set of hands. Or do you have a grandmother that can come with you or grandpa, or, you know, can your sister come? Or whatever. And you know that it's a. It's a short season, those really hard years when kids are young, if it feels long, but it's not forever. And in a lot of ways it gets easier. Well.

[Jenny]

And it is helpful to meet up with friends. Last winter, we were better about this, my sisters and my friends and I. Every Friday we'd meet up and it was cold a lot of times, but, like, we're just gonna do it, do it anyway. Like, there's nobody at the park. The kids bundle. They're happy to be there. And it just feels, you know, like something to look forward to. And it's the thing I miss most during winter is thinking about those meetups, those play times. I remember my sister, she was. She had her daughter, her very first daughter, in January. And she's very much an extrovert. Like, she cannot stand just being in our house all the time. And so she would bundle her up and take her on a stroller ride pretty much from like two weeks on, just every day anyways. You know, like, people, are you crazy? You have this newborn out and it's like 20 degrees. But it just, it. It was so refreshing to her to just get out, be in the world. She lived in a subdivision at the time, and she just had her little baby in the stroller. And she was like, I'm not listening to the naysayers about this. What would you say? Because I think some people have the very old school belief that taking kids outside in the cold is going to make them sick.

[Lisa]

Yeah. I would say that's a much a malarkey. That's not true. Anecdotally.

[Jenny]

I know it's malarkey, but yes, I.

[Lisa]

Mean, I think if you take your kids out in the cold is going to make them healthier.

[Jenny]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

Because they're going to have fresh air, they're not breathing the inside stuff. They're going to probably move a little bit more. That's going to help their lymphatic system and they're going to get the full spectrum light, which is going to help their circadian rhythm. And there's over a hundred body systems that are dependent on the day and night cycle. So I don't quite know where that originated. I probably should know because people talk about that a lot.

[Jenny]

It's a thing. People still think that like they, especially babies, like you can take older kids outside in the cold, but babies should not, you know, they should not be exposed to cold at all. Which I never worried about that. Mine were all fine and I felt like honestly, they got sick less than average possibly. But yeah, that's. It is still a belief.

[Lisa]

I mean they, they still, when they still have circadian rhythms and need that full spectrum light as well. And Angela Hanscom talks about that in her book, it's called Balanced and Barefoot, where she says like the first year is actually very important. She dedicated a whole chapter, I'm pretty sure in her book to that first year of life and how important it is for babies to be outside. I think sometimes we look at it and think, oh, this is, oh, we'll do it when they're toddlers or when there's other kids to run around with. But exactly what your sister was doing, which is putting the baby in a stroller or carrying the baby in a pack and baby wearing, which that actually is good for your whole musculoskeletal system because that's rucking. I mean that is, that is so good for women, is to walk with weight bearing. You know, you could wear a backpack if you don't have babies anymore. That's where I'm at. But if you've got a baby or a toddler and that naturally that weight gets heavier and heavier, that is going to help you with your, with your bones. I mean, that's all that load bearing work is Helping to build your, your skeleton up stronger. It's like this seems like how God made it. You know, it's like you have a baby and then you can carry the baby. And while you carry the baby, that helps your body too. It's like quite a, quite a win, win situation. So the, the gait, like as you walk, if you're baby wearing, that's constantly helping their eyes learn to work together because they're constantly having to adjust their gaze. So that's a good thing. There's so many benefits. I liked that chapter in Angela's book about the first year of life because I think sometimes we think, well, who cares? What could they possibly be looking at or learning? But there's a lot going on outside.

[Jenny]

Well, and they want to be out there. My son, he is 18 months and he is always just like, if my husband go out the door without him, he doesn't care how cold it is. He feels like he should be out there with them. And my husband has a back carrier that he wears. So it's, it's something that we both do. Like he's, he's often the one that's carrying the. More of the toddler age and just doing his regular outside stuff, like he's taking out the trash, vacuuming out the van, feeding the chickens. He'll just put the toddler on his back. And we have a little snowsuit thing like you said your friend was wearing that time. Just like a quick little overall onesie deal. And so it's actually really easy to get him ready because we usually don't put him down. Like we'll just put him in the carrier in his little overall thing. And so it's really pretty easy to do.

[Lisa]

Yeah, we had one, it was, it was called a bunting. And it. I don't know if that was actually the word. I think that's what it was called. So like even if your kid is in there, like fleece pajamas with the footies, and then you put them in the bunting, which was like a fleece, almost like that. And then it had, it usually had things that would go over the hands.

[Jenny]

Right. And it has a thing.

[Lisa]

Yeah, yeah. And I got it like a mom to mom sale for like $6. And then we like used it for like, you know how long? For probably 10 years.

[Jenny]

Yes.

[Lisa]

And then we gave it to somebody.

[Jenny]

My sister and I, we always pass it back and forth because we alternate baby years. And so we have these, what we call the snowsuits and we just swap them back and Forth and back and forth.

[Lisa]

Yeah, they're pretty. They're pretty sturdy. That's another thing about that kind of stuff. And I guess with a baby, especially if you're mostly just carrying them, they don't get ruined, huh?

[Jenny]

And they love it.

[Lisa]

I would agree. I mean, that really was not the hardest age to get ready is the. The new walker. So, like, they can hardly move in the boots. They're. They can hardly move in the snowsuit. And their hand, you can't get their hands in. And then if their hands come out of their gloves and then their hands get wet, then they're crying. But someone had, Someone had wrote in one of the questions. I love Lisa. It was like, my toddler is crying in the outdoors. I'm like, well, toddlers cry everywhere.

[Jenny]

Yeah, that's true.

[Lisa]

Toddlers, they cry everywhere. I was at our older son's basketball game the other night, and there was, like, this cutest little girl. She's two years old. She was sitting behind us, and she cried, like, a ton of it. Yeah, because that's what it. That's what they do. They're going to cry outside. They're also going to cry inside. Toddlers cry.

[Jenny]

Yes. And if you have kids, you know that we were on a flight once, and my toddler, and it was a long flight, he decided he didn't want to do it. And I felt so bad for everybody else in the plane because, like, you can't escape. And he did not want to do it. I'm like, hopefully you all understand that this is what toddlers do, and there is nothing I can do about it.

[Lisa]

No, nothing. No, not at all. Not at all.

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[Jenny]

Do people do outside when it's freezing cold but no snow? I grew up in a very snowy place and live in a place with my kids now that can be very cold but not much snow. Truly I don't know what to do with myself or my kids. So I just really quick want to interject. We normally don't have snow on the ground all year like you guys do up there. Jenny. We normally it gets cold but then it'll get warm and the snow will melt and then it's just not on the ground for weeks at a time. Well, this year we've had snow on the ground for weeks at a time and that is not all it's cracked up to be. Honestly, it's easier to play outside when there's not snow. I'm just gonna go ahead and say it's great when you have snow. It melts and then you can just play outside like normal. Yes. You're bundled up, you can go on the trampoline, you can go on the playground, you can go on hikes. Snow is a whole different ball game.

[Lisa]

Well, there is a lot to think through in the different seasons, that's for sure. It reminds me of now we like the snow. So I mean I like it if, if it's winter with no snow. I think I'm always like a little bummed.

[Jenny]

What's the point?

[Lisa]

Yeah, right. It's like that. It's like in the Narnia books when they say always winter but never Christmas. You know, I'm like, I want there to be some snow. I do think that that gives that open ended play opportunity. But if there's no snow, then you walk. I mean you get out, you walk a little bit. Yeah, I mean this is not the time where you're probably going to be spending four hours outside because you know there's just less to interact with. And I think that our world is cyclical for a reason. And you know that this is the time when you have the permission to stay inside a little bit more or to do those types of things. Or when it's like super stormy. I'm like always thrilled. I'm like there is a massive storm. I'm like great. This is our day to sort of stay inside and catch up on different things or rest or whatever. So I think, you know, you take the seasons as they come. I read this really cool book though, Lisa. It's called still by this woman named Mary Jo Hoffman. And she is like, like an astrophysicist or something that's like incredibly smart. I'm sure I just butchered it, but whatever. She's like working at this incredibly high level. And then she wanted to do something creative because she was just feeling kind of burnt out. And so she started to take nature photos every day. That was like her daily practice. She would find some bit of found nature, take a picture of it on a white background, and it became like this huge thing. And she's now she's got this book out and she did it for like, I don't know, over a decade straight. Didn't miss a day. And then they had a house fire. So I think she missed a day or two. But like she was super consistent with it. We're sick. It's a holiday she didn't miss. And what she said she learned is that actually the four season thing is really inaccurate. That for sure. Every two weeks the weather is changing noticeably. Noticeably. But she said even every five days. But the whole point was like she took this thing, it was really cool. She named each two week season in her book. It was like, I can't remember any specifics of it, so I'm not gonna even try. But it was like every two weeks. And you know, it would be like the winter chill, but it's only two weeks. And then in two weeks it changes a little bit. And in two weeks it changes a little bit more and you really start to notice. And I thought, well, anybody can get through two weeks. You know, it was a good perspective.

[Jenny]

Changes a little bit. Yes. Yeah. Well, the light changes constantly. It's always. They're adding on, you know, not there. Minutes are getting long, you know, the days are getting longer.

[Lisa]

Someone's adding them shorter, whatever.

[Jenny]

Yeah, they're adding. It's all the time. Well, my dad has this deer hunting magazine and it, it like, or whatever publication. And it shows throughout the entire, like from November to March. Like what's happening with the light? Maybe it's even, even October. But I find it so fascinating to look through like the number because some, sometimes it's like a minute a day is. It's decreasing by and then it. Then it drops off sharp, like two or three minutes a day. And then all of a sudden in February, happy, happy month. Like, yes, it's still cold, but we're getting like minutes every single day. And my dad knows I'm fascinated with It So he'll be like, hey, guess what? Shortest, the shortest evening now. Yeah, we're lose a few moments in the morning, but this is the earliest it's going to get dark now, you know, so I think, you know, there's that and then of course it's really easy to notice in the spring and summer there's always a new flower all the time. But it's interesting that she observed throughout the winter.

[Lisa]

Yes, I'm gonna, I pulled it up. Okay, that is interesting because I think you're gonna like it. Okay, so if you're starting like at the beginning of December, time of ice, two weeks, time of darkness, that's like right around Christmas. Time of stillness. We're right where time of stillness is beginning of January. Now the two weeks that we're in right now is time of bitter wind. The coldest season of the year. Everyone is winter weary. And then it goes into time of hunger where the temperatures are on the rise, the days are getting longer. You're, you know, you're really, really close to it. Time of awakening. This is like mid February hibernating into the beginning of March. Hibernating. Animals are starting to twitch then. Time of thaw. This is the earthworms, time of SAP, time of rain, time of birth. I mean, isn't this beautiful?

[Jenny]

Yeah. And when we just stay inside and wish the day or wish the season away, we don't observe any of this. And part of the joy of humans that God created was for us to enjoy these changes. Otherwise it would just be the same all the time. But I find it beautiful.

[Lisa]

I also think since you said that, because I couldn't remember if you have like if you talk about faith based things or not. But I do think that when you pay attention to, when you pay attention to that, what you were talking about with the sunlight, it reminds you that time is passing. I actually think it's a very powerful thing to pay attention to how much daylight there is. And you notice that I have 12 weeks more daylight this week than last week because it says in the Bible that we should number our days and that that gives us a heart of wisdom. And I think that when you pay attention to seasonality, it helps you to remember, you know, I'm only going to get 80 of these summers, right.

[Jenny]

And they come and go and they come and they go and they come.

[Lisa]

You know, how many times are you really going to get to sled with your kids?

[Jenny]

Right?

[Lisa]

You know, maybe it's 14 seasons of that or you know, when they're old enough or when they still want to go sled with you. Or maybe it's 18 or maybe it's 20 or whatever it is, but it's countable. And I think, I love that, I love that he has that thing that helps you to notice, you know, how long and short the days and nights are.

[Jenny]

Yeah. It's interesting because every season they, the days pass the same, but I'm always like, all right, let's get through winter. And then I just need time to go ahead and just completely stop in spring, summer and fall. But of course it doesn't. So taking and finding the beauty in all of these seasons is important. Or you're just kind of wishing your whole life away because then it's winter again.

[Lisa]

Right, right, right. And the other, the other months are, I think, fairly hectic. And especially if you're on a farm or you're doing any of that homestead stuff, they're exhausting. Yeah, we used to watch, we used to watch that show Alaska, the Final Frontier. It was like Jewel's family. I like Jewel. So, you know, and they would be in the summer, especially in Alaska, that shows so short, like the two months where it's basically the sun is up the whole time and like they are working. I mean. Yeah, they're waiting for that 20 hours. Yeah. And I think the winter is that time where you sort of, you know, you get to curl in and be a little cozy and you prioritize getting some light, getting some movement, getting some fresh air and that's all you need.

[Jenny]

You have somewhere. The breakdown of hours depending on if you have really hot summers or really cold winters. How can you explain that a little bit?

[Lisa]

Yeah, well, because we really are, we're aiming to get outside for a thousand hours in a year. It's been a protective measure in our family to sort of ward off screen time and to make sure that we're living hands on moments and building relationships. So the cold, the cold weather one is like an hour a day in January, an hour a day in February, and then in the summer it is a lot longer. Like maybe, I mean, you could be out in the summer for 10 to 4. You know, if you're home and you've got summer break, you could be outside from noon to 6, or on the weekends you could be outside all day. You could be outside from, you know, 10 to nine or something like that. But in the winter it's just a lot harder to be outside. So it sort of, it sort of balloons in the middle and then you Know, it's less on that. It's like a bell curve, basically. And then it's opposite if you're in a place where in the summer it's 120 degrees and so, right, you're not going to be outside for four hours. And I always used to think, Lisa, I was like, why don't they just go swim?

[Jenny]

You know, because I'm thinking.

[Lisa]

But you know what they say. Someone told me at a conference because I was like being kind of snarky and I was like, well, just go in your pool, you know, or go in your friend's pool or go to the ocean or go to whatever. And they say the water gets really hot and there's really not a good way to cool it down. So you feel like you're swimming in bath water. And it doesn't. Like, I've never hardly experienced that. If you swim in any type of pool or lake or pond, you know, in Michigan it's cold the whole time.

[Jenny]

Oh no, it's like that here. They could be cold, but if you are, sorry, hot. But if you do like a sprinkler or something with fresh hose water, not that that's maybe sustainable, but I feel like if you are wet outside. But I haven't experienced 120. I mean, it, we're complaining here. If it's a 100, like that's, that's it happens. You know, we get negative 10 a couple weeks in, in January and we get 100 a couple weeks in August or July.

[Lisa]

So that's the whole, the whole point of though those charts, which is if you, you know, one's for like if you have really harsh winters and ones if you have really scorching summers. But it's like if you have both.

[Jenny]

Missouri, you have both. You definitely do have both. And a lot of states in the Midwest, I guess Missouri, like this, this level here, yeah, that's common. But there, there's also a lot of relief. Like we get. People say, oh, well, in, you know, my state, we have 100 degree summers and we have negative 10 winters. I bet if you're, I mean, maybe there's states like that, but if you're anything like Missouri, it's negative 10 for a couple weeks and then it goes up to 40. Whereas like, I'm sure in Michigan you probably don't get lots of 40 degree days in January and February. We totally do. We get them all winter. Not really this year, but normally we always do. And then. Same thing with the 100. Yes, it can get up to 100. It is not 100 all July and August. That's not like the daily average. If you look up the average, which. This is interesting. If you think your climate is terrible, I challenge you to Google daily average temperature by month with your city. I was shocked at mine.

[Lisa]

Shocked. I want to know because I have.

[Jenny]

It in my head that we have, like, you know, 20 degrees average here. Let me just search St. Louis, Missouri, because it was so interesting. I forget where you see this. This is. This might be the one. There was one, like, quick answer where you could see it, but I'm not getting it right now.

[Lisa]

Yeah, like, mine's pulling up some sort of a chart and I'm like, I don't want to chart normally.

[Jenny]

It shows it, like, with that little.

[Lisa]

You know, I want like a. I know.

[Jenny]

You have to put in one of the graphs, put in January and then it'll say more averages for this destination.

[Lisa]

Okay, this is fun. Maybe people are doing it right now. It's fine.

[Jenny]

I put it in because I'm like, wait, this is not near as bad. Okay, so the average temperature in St. Louis in January for a typical day high of 39, low of 22.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jenny]

And then it'll show each month.

[Lisa]

Yeah. Okay, this is interesting. Okay, so we're near Detroit. We're in the Metro Detroit area, Michigan. The cold season lasts for 3.3 months from December 1st to March 10th. So we're already, like, halfway through with an average daily High temperature below 42. The coldest month of the year in Detroit is January with a low of 21 and a high of 32. That's not even that cold.

[Jenny]

That's what I'm saying. When you find, like, the daily average temperature by month for your area, it's really crazy. Like February here. Average high. Yes. There can be a random negative 2, but the average high on record as long as they've been collecting data is 42 degrees.

[Lisa]

Yeah, but if you've. It's like if you've written it off already, then you're just not getting out. And also, I do think your body has to acclimate to it a little bit. So, you know, you have to get a little used to that cold, you know, cold in your face and. And that type of thing. So it's like if you only go out three times in the winter. Well, yeah, it's probably going to feel awful. But if you go out a little more, then you have perspective. And some of those days do feel a lot better than you would think.

[Jenny]

Right. Like, the average so the average high in July in St. Louis, Missouri, is 88. Yes, we can get a 100, but that's the average. And so we get these things in our head because we're just kind of maybe taking the data points of the worst case scenario, and both of them are like, well, it's 110 degrees here in the summer, and it's negative 10 in the winter. Like, it. There's probably a place like that, but it's not Missouri. So I don't know.

[Lisa]

That's really interesting because, yeah, 88 is not that hot. 88's fine. And.

[Jenny]

And that's just average. That means there's days that are like 82. And then, of course, there's days that are 95 or whatever.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jenny]

But on average, throughout the year, at least three or four times a week, it is quite doable to get outside. And I guess that's the idea is. Yes. You don't have to get outside every single day. If you're having a week of negative 10 weather, just hunker down. Right.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jenny]

But throughout the year, making it your priority to get outside regularly is the goal.

[Lisa]

Yeah, that's what we're trying to do. We've been doing it since 2011, and it has really enhanced our life. I started writing about it in 2013. It's been over a decade, but our kids have spent, you know, over 10,000 hours of time outside throughout their childhoods. You know, more as they're hitting the end of their teen years. And I don't regret it. I think that it has really, like I said, been a protective factor against excessive screen use. And I'm starting to talk to people, and I'm sure you are, too, Lisa, who are lamenting about kids who are addicted to screens. They're dropping out of college. They can't thrive. That. And it's wired their brain in ways that make life a lot harder. And we just don't have that right. Yeah.

[Jenny]

Yeah. All right, well, tell the listeners about your podcast. That's. Is that the place where you're most active? I know you're active on Instagram as well. 1000 hours outside.

[Lisa]

But, yeah, that's all got the same. It all has the same name.

[Jenny]

1,000 hours outside everywhere.

[Lisa]

1,000 hours outside podcast. Mostly we talk about going outside, but occasionally we talk about other things, and people do get mad about that. Like, I had this woman on, and I. And I loved her. She wrote a book called Dark Calories. Her name is Dr. Kate Shanahan. And I read the book. Not expecting that she would come on the podcast, but the book was so good I asked her and then she came on. Anyway, people were not happy with me, but it's about seed oils and it actually like really changed my life. So it was a super phenomenal book, noted and I highly, highly recommend it. And so most of the time we talk about going outside, but occasionally we talk about seed oils and some people are happy about it and some people are not. We've got an app, same thing, 1,000 hours outside and a website 1,000 hours outside. And yeah, social media, it's all the same thing. Easy to find.

[Jenny]

Yes, easy to find in a very simple but highly impactful mission. Well, thank you so much Jenny for joining me again.

[Lisa]

Thank you for having me back. What a fun thing. It's so good to see you.

[Jenny]

Thanks as always for listening to the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast. My husband Luke and I and our eight kids work together side by side on our little homestead and use our blog, podcast and YouTube channel to reach other homemakers, home cooks and homesteaders with practical recipes and daily family life. For everyday sourdough recipes, make sure to check out our blog, farmassomboon.com and to dig deeper, we do also offer a course called Simple Sourdough over at Bit Ly Farmhouses. That's all one word. Bit Ly Farmhouse Sourdough Course. If you're looking to learn how we earn an income online, check out my free blog success masterclass at BIT Lynch Farmhouse blogging school and my YouTube course at BIT Ly Farmhouse YouTube course. All one word. You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other job sites with Indeed sponsored jobs, your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored Jobs posted directly on indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored Jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com kidsandfamily just go to Indeed.com kidsandfamily right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need.