Linda Åkeson McGurk
Open-Air Life: Getting Kids Outside Rain or Shine
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.
AUDIO VERSION
Linda Åkeson McGurk
Linda Åkeson McGurk is a Swedish-American writer and the bestselling author of "There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather" and "The Open-Air Life". Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, TIME Magazine, Huffington Post, Psychology Today and other major outlets, and she is a frequent guest on podcasts and summits where she speaks about nature connection, parenting and the Nordic philosophy of friluftsliv. A passionate advocate for outdoor living, McGurk runs the popular Substack newsletter The Open-Air Life and the long-running blog Rain or Shine Mamma. When she is not writing, she is most likely out wandering the pine forests near her home in Sweden – rain, snow or shine.
Discussion
Your questions will be answered after the conference.
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I never would have thought that a child not going outside can cause nearsightedness. That is amazing.
I know – and it’s an epidemic in some parts of the world…It just goes to show how daylight and interaction with the outdoors is necessary for a child’s holistic development.
Thank you, Linda, for sharing about your Scandinavian open-air living. Friluftsliv is a wonder to pass on to each generation and create wonderful memories.
Here in Australia, we have an outdoor, sports and love of nature culture. I hope the next generations find time to go outside and be part of nature.
The benefits of children playing, walking and experiencing the elements out way being inside.
If the children are playing inside more, will they develop gross motor skills?
I love Australia (was an exchange student in Perth and backpacked around the country a couple of times) and remember the outdoor culture being quite strong – I’m sure the warm climate has something to do with it! At the same time, I think the constant pull of electronics and sedentary lives of children are now universal problems. They definitely miss out on many opportunities for developing gross motor skills when they’re cooped up indoors. We’re already seeing that children today are in worse shape and have worse balance and coordination than they did in the 1980s (at least in the US).