Pre p.a.w. activities/preps for kids

[Redemption]

I am looking for some ideas to introduce my 4 & 6 year old boys
to a bug out or survival situation.
I have taken them both on a couple of car camping outings
and a few hikes with a small pack each.
We have also gone over a few items they carry in the micro bobs
such as garbage bags, whistle, orange bandana,bear bells.
What I need are a few suggestions for activities on our next hike,
or items they should have in case of seperation from us.

Please feel free to hijack this thread.
And to the mods:
sorry if I'm beating a dead horse please move or delete if needed.

[CryHavoc]

A lot of the Cub/Boy Scout outdoor activities would be good.

[epirider]

A lot of the Cub/Boy Scout outdoor activities would be good.

+1

[Redemption]

10-4 I'll start there...oddly enough I've been wanting to get them involved in scouting,
but even the oldest is still too young according to B.S.A. Guidelines
( not to mention my boys could prob take over for the local scout master )

[Chantrea]

The way I look at it is that pre-PAW “activities” are multifaceted, and you’re probably doing more than you know. It’s also good to take a step back and make sure you’re not overly concentrating on ONE aspect (even if it’s the most fun).

Camping and wilderness skills are great and fun! You don’t have to join the boy scouts if you don’t have a group in the area that you like (though—you could start your own, which gives you more control over the focus). There are many other youth organizations that are always hard up for leaders. If doing the organized thing isn’t your bag, you could just do your own private friends only group. Go camping, do tracking, ect. Get your stuff out and USE it. Assuming it’s legal at your property (or if not, maybe look into trying to find a place where you can), build a fire and do real some real campout cooking in addition to the stove. You want your kids ideally to have positive associations with doing this stuff, and good memories of being included in the preparation and being taught real skills.

However—those things aren’t the be all and end all of prep, even for kids. How’s your bug in supplies? Hit up the great resources at FEMAkids (whatever your feelings about the government are, you’re paying for those cool resources, so you might as well take advantage, KWIM). Have your kids put together the supplies too. When you go shopping and buy spares, take your kids and point out why. Have them help you organize the stuff (esp. if it’s not organized now). IMO, 5+ is NOT too young to introduce the concept of budgeting and spending family money, if you can do that while at the same time promoting awareness of being prepared, so much the better. If you guys have preps and have not prepared BOBs and bug in supplies for them—have your kids do it. They might even think of things that you would not, to be honest, if they’re close to the pets.

If your kids are addicted to screen time (and aren’t we all? This is not a criticism.) then get them in the habit of a once a month no-electricity evening. For *everyone*. Including you. Turn off the phone ringer. Build a fort in the living room (to conserve heat, or course!). Cook on the camping stove, rain or shine. Light the lanterns, let them have their own flashlight. Play the board games/teach them new card games that of course you also have handy for bug-in situations. If you’re hard core, don’t even turn on the faucets—use your water supplies (good time to rotate after your done). Go on a dark night flashlight hike around the neighborhood (not exactly applicable to survival situation, but still fun to strap on your packs and test ‘em out—especially if there’s a special treat/picnic somewhere along the way). Have a family campout. The next morning, organize your supplies, have the kids make a list of what you used, and go together to replenish. Have them help you replenish the water too.

As they get older and ask more questions, you can and should share some of the more complex reasons for prepping as it applies to your family’s beliefs and values.

[eugene]

The FEMA stuff is pretty decent if you overlook that it omits things like defense and tools like knives to be PC. I'd print those out and keep them with the kids kits. Also keep tabs on some of the kids shows they watch or if they talk about anything related. One of the Nick Jr. between shows talked about having some preps similar to that FEMA suggests. Another time was national fire prevention month and they talked about having and practicing a fire escape plan, you can do that too. The turtle show had them practicing fire escapes too, the mother or father turtle was timing.
I try to do an unplanned small family trip every so often, we'll look around and find something interesting going on at a state park or see nice weather sat morning and just grab our stuff and go.

[Redemption]

Wow our family outing today fell right in line with some of your suggestions.
I mentioned a hike today and the boys grabbed whistles and camelbaks.
We did a "stealth hike" (one in wich we try to remain as quiet as possible,(could come in handy someday). We ended up seeing several turkeys due to this.
A little ways past the halfway point we stopped for a snack of animal crackers
and mre jerky,and went back home to prepare our "mountain man food" as the kids call it (it's mountain house but I'm not tellin 'em). Then we just read books the rest of the evening.

One thing I wish we had more time for was the campout but they go back to school in the morning.

So is anyone up for starting a ZS kids program???
We could call them ZS Cadets (I think using scouts would be some sort of copyright infringement)

no really thanks for the input I need all the help I can get

[scattergun]

+1 for scouting! I am a huge advocate for boy scouts. as for your boys taking over for the scoutmaster, well... that just depends on who the scoutmaster is. We had a leader when I was in scouts that had been doing all kinds of camping trips, canoe trips, hikes, just about anything to do with the outdoors he had done. he had been doing it since he was around 9 or 10, from what he told us. he was in his 60s at the time. if I could know half of what he knows, i think i could survive in the wilderness indefinitely...

[Ninja Master]

Another +1 for scouting.

I'm an Eagle Scout and I constantly use the skills I learned in scouting (probably more than I'm aware of). More importantly, scouting helped cultivate interests that led me to further educate myself in the field of disaster preparedness. It may sound cheesy, but the skills and interests I developed in scouting form a large part of who I am today.

[Cnidaria]

If your kids are addicted to screen time (and aren’t we all? This is not a criticism.) then get them in the habit of a once a month no-electricity evening.

This is a great idea. My mom did this with me when I was a kid. As a result, when there is a power outage, it is more fun than stressful, because I have good experiences with it. Also, giving the kids some decision making power makes it easier for them to have a good time. Something as simple as, "What should we cook for tonight?" talking about the ingredients, taking them shopping, and having them do most of the work. They can even look up recipes online or in cookbooks. Obviously in the PAW they aren't going to look up recipes online, but the type of thought process that goes, "I don't know how to do something" -> "I'll find out how to do that" -> "Yay, I did it!" is a really good thing to encourage. An important part of disaster prep is about problem solving, not panicking, and keeping spirits up. Also, growing food and raising animals is a fun experience for kids.

[eugene]

Mine are almost 3 and 4.5 years old so not quite ready to do much hikes. We've been bike riding since we can throw them on a seat and ride. Our bikes fit into our preps as a secondary BOV should it come to that or a post oil world where we have to ride them to work etc.
I plan to try geocaching and hiking once we get completely potty trained, both will get busy playing and forget to go at the moment.

[zombiehuntress]

Modify a game of hide and go seek. Assign hiding places and tell them that the last person to make noise wins. When you call out a certain word, they need to go to their hiding place and be quiet as mice.

Follow the Leader- excellent for hiking with wee ones.

[FNG]

My son is now in first grade, making him eligible to be a Tiger Cub. As there is a dearth of adults to assist in leading, I am now the Tiger Cub denleader/packmaster/overseer - still shaky on terminology, as my scouting experience is minimal at best.

So we'll be learning together. At least I have this site to fall back on for advice!

I like the 'no-electricity' evening and FEMAkids info suggestions.

Thank you.

[Silent Kube]

Just because they are too young to be an actual scout doesn't mean you can't buy them copies of the manual. I started prety young by finding my dad's old manuals from the fifties.

[Kutter_0311]

A lot of the Cub/Boy Scout outdoor activities would be good.

Another +1

My oldest boy will be in 1st grade next year, and this is how I plan to prep him, and the other kids after him.

I'm pretty sure the whole family can tag along a good bit, but I expect I'll be an expert in both Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting by the time the kids are grown.

[TacAir]

When our kids were young we had an “emergency situation” night - monthly or so. We would pick something from current news as the ‘emergency’.

The lights were shut off (the ‘frige cheated of course)
Water had to come from the kitchen 5 gal jug
Dinner cooked over an alcohol stove - kids held the flashlight and the fire extinguisher - just in case
We lit off the Aladdin lamp - and dinner was had.

Board games followed.

The ‘emergency’ always ended just before bedtime, then off to baths and so on.

Later when we had a wide-area power outage, the kids didn’t panic - they KNEW we could handle emergencies. Starting early can provide children with a resilient outlook on life. And given what we see facing the next generation - it just may be the greatest gift you can give children.

As an aside - since Scouts were mentioned. I am a former Scout myself, and do not like what I see in “scouting” today.
Another organization has sprung up to bring back the non-PC Scouting of days gone by.
More can be found here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-Powe ... ssociation

Remember, Lord Baden-Powell was focused on training young men for military service - so they would survive the duty. The original Scouts were a uniformed para-military youth organization focused on military skills. Now days, not so much.

[huntingohio]

I do like the "idea" of scouts but to me it seems to be waning and by the time my boys are old enough it will prolly be a video game club. This comes after a frined of mine decided that he wanted his kids troop to refinish his old beater m1 garand as a project. Now this would be great it would teach young kids basic wood working skills, gunsmith skills, rifle matinence and safety and hell even a little hands on history. Then he wanted to let the troop go to his private range and learn how to shoot reload and clean the weapon. Now to ice the cake, he was willing to donate it to the troop for them to use anytime along with his private range and supply ammo FREE! The scout master wanted to do it ungodly bad, but his higher ups put the ban hammer on it. They said that nothing larger than a 22lr was allowed to be shot at any scout type gathering. They both grumbled and kicked the dirt a bit, so i decided that i would part with an old 22 i had for the project, again the scout master went to clear it, again BANHAMMERED.


That being said i was never a scout, thought about it but it seemed underwhelming after my first meeting. When i was a kid i usally just went out with my father and learned hands on. We had old old books that had pictures of animal tracks and fur, and descriptions of local trees and plants. I think thats a easier enviornment to learn in, when you put your hands on everything.


With my kids they are to young to take out but as soon as i can I plan on it. I want to teach them to fish with a coke can and fishing line, show them how to set banklines and snare, make netting and things of that nature. For my family SCOUT is a common term but it refers to person who has learned to hunt and trap. But again i come from a appalachian family with more than a few bits of red man in the blood

[AZMedic]

A lot of the Cub/Boy Scout outdoor activities would be good.

Especially if your Uncle is the Boy Scout master and likes to take "shortcuts"....I didn't learn to survive on purpose it just happened oh and he did find a lost scout on accident once also.

Did I mention I missed the helicopter ride campout?

[Lucretius]

At that age, the kids learn easily, and form solid habits for life.

It's a good time to get them their first own knives. AND to teach them a bit about how to use them (safe handling, proper way to handle the tool to another person, etc.). At my first parent/teacher meeting, right after the school made a day trip to the woods, the teacher just plainly told me "I notice your daughter already knows how to handle a knife safely..."

I've heard rumours about kids having a hard time walking on anything but flat asphalt/concrete. So any time spent in the woods are better than nothing.

You can work out a simple code with the whistles (three of anything generally means SOS, so that would be obvious to include).

Firemaking probably is to challenging, but how about just lighting a match? Skills are skills, and if the kids now how, they're well on their part to the bow drill...


MOST IMPORTANT HABIT I'VE TAUGHT MY KIDS: you know how they get all lost in fantasy land, and forget/drop/loose stuff all the time? (Hats, towels, socks, toys etc.). Whenever you stop to eat/camp/rest, before you leave the site, the kids walk around the area at least twice, looking for items that would otherwise be left behind. The first times, they WILL find something that they'd otherwise would have to do without, so they quickly and easily adopt this strategy because they see the value in it. (And they won't adopt Dads' anal retentive attitude about gear for several years, so this is probably the only way to achieve the effect). Once they've saved their first stuffed animal, or their first knife, from being left behind in the woods, they'll thank you for it!

[man in black]

As an eagle scout I am dissapointed in the way that scouts are heading nowadays, we had an old school scoutmaster and then my father became scoutmaster and continued in that tradition. In my eyes the scouting program can be redeemed but only through vigilance and common sense as well as a sense of tradition in the scoutmasters. From what i understand its a decent amount of extra work, not a second job but if you really want your kids to become proper scouts and not couch scouts I would try and get a leadership position in the organization.


when i was a boy my dad would not let me and my brother in the house on nice days so we learned to play in the woods hahah

[sotik]

I am looking for some ideas to introduce my 4 & 6 year old boys
to a bug out or survival situation.
I have taken them both on a couple of car camping outings
and a few hikes with a small pack each.
We have also gone over a few items they carry in the micro bobs
such as garbage bags, whistle, orange bandana,bear bells.
What I need are a few suggestions for activities on our next hike,
or items they should have in case of seperation from us.

Please feel free to hijack this thread.
And to the mods:
sorry if I'm beating a dead horse please move or delete if needed.

Things you as a father could do to teach your children about survival.

1. Go camping, and I mean CAMPING. Don't take a tent trailer and all that fancy stuff. Do it primitive style and teach them some wood craft skills.
2. Take them fishing, this is something they will enjoy doing with you and they learn how to catch food.
3. Teach them how to hunt, same as above.
4. Don't build a BoB for them, have them help you build a BoB. They learn how to do it themselves, and make it fun for christ sakes. They are just kids
5. Teach them how to shoot guns and or reload, and remember to teach them gun responsibility.
6. Go on hikes with them, get them into shape and get them use to the idea of traveling long distances.
7. When prepping food and water have them help you. They may not like the "chore" of it, but it teaches them how to do it.
8. Fire skills
9. Animal tracking
10. Already said but wood craft skills
11. How to purify water, and make sure you tell them why
12. How to shit in the woods, trust me this is a skill that most urban people don't know and its a great skill to have
13. How to properly set up a tent, selecting a site, putting down a foot print, setting it up, and securing it
14. Knowing how to four wheel drive is a great tool its not something you can teach them NOW but get them use to it so they aren't scare of it, my dad is scared to death when I go four wheeling in my bronco and he is tagging along, its something he never did, and doesn't know how to do, but it can be a life saver C
15. How to stay clean in the woods. How to clean your hands before eating, clean a cut so it wont get infected, cleaning food.
16. How to tell which plants are safe or not safe to eat
17. Introduce them to the wild life, teach them to respect all wild animals.

Basically, just get them involved. Let them hang out and watch you do things. Teach them not only how to do this type of stuff, but why you do it. I never enjoyed helping my parents take care of the live stock while I was growing up, but you know what. I can plow a field, shoe a horse, tame a horse, slaughter a cow or pig, drive a tactor and so many other things I would have never learned other wise if it was not for my parents having me help take care of everything.

There are many grown men who couldn't do anything I just listed. So involving your kids in anything PAW prep related will help teach them the skills, and the fun things such as fishing will become a past time while teaching them how to do something that could save their lives one day.

[Zdigger]

Two books which have great ideas and skill sets in them for your kids are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outdoor_Book_for_Adventurous_Boys

Here is a list of the Chapters:

The Great Outdoors

1. What to Wear for an Outdoor Adventure
2. How to Predict the Weather
3. Star Spotting
4. Riding Your Bike Off-Road
5. Building a Tree-house
6. How to Make a Rope Swing
7. Making Camp
8. Putting Up Your Tent
9. Camp Furniture
10. Building and Cooking on a Campfire
11. Campfire Songs
12. Stories Around the Camp Fire
13. Exploring Tide-pools
14. How to Use a Snorkel and Flippers
15. How to Paddle a Kayak
16. How to Use Binoculars

Fun and Games

1. Finding Fossils
2. How to Skip Stones
3. Rock Climbing
4. How to Ski
5. How to Skate
6. Puddle Curling
7. Snow and Ice Sculpture
8. Sailing a Sailboat
9. How to Surf
10. Building a Mega-Sandcastle
11. How to Play Dodgeball
12. Capture the Flag
13. Throwing and Catching a Boomerang
14. Making a Kite
15. Beach-Towel Volleyball

Wilderness Survival

1. Assembling a Survival Kit
2. Find Your Way with a Map and Compass
3. Crossing a River
4. How Thick is the Ice?
5. Facing Up to a Charging Bull
6. How to Avoid Being Struck by Lightning
7. Hitches and Lashings-Some Useful Knots
8. How to Make a Whistle
9. Collecting and Purifying Water
10. Making a Stretcher
11. How to Make a Slingshot
12. Make a Bow and Arrow
13. Tracking
14. Secret Signs and Messages
15. Traps and Snares
16. How to Catch a Rabbit in a Hole
17. The Ojibwa Bird Pole
18. How to Fish
19. How to Catch Crabs by Handline
20. How to Tickle a Trout
21. How to Gut and Clean a Fish

Clever Inventions

1. Make a Tin-Can Telephone
2. Make a Water-Powered Rocket
3. Build a Glider
4. Build Your Own Go-Kart
5. Make an Exploding Popsicle Stick Frisbee
6. Make a Water Bomb
7. Make a Popgun
8. Make a Rubber-Band-Powered Boat
9. Make a Hot-Air Balloon
10. Make Your Own Windmill
11. Make a Sled

Extreme Survival

1. Light a Fire without Matches
2. Make a Birch Bark Torch
3. Pit Cooking
4. Make a Spoon
5. Make a Flint Knife
6. Build a Bivouac
7. Build an Igloo
8. Construct a Log Raft
9. Evasion and Camouflage
10. Sea Survival
11. Escape from Quicksand
12. What to Do if You're Caught in an Avalanche
13. Poisonous Snakes and How to Avoid Them
14. Poisonous Insects and Spiders
15. How to Wrestle a Crocodile
16. Escaping a Bear Attack

and:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dangerous_Book_for_Boys

The completely revised American Edition includes:

The Greatest Paper Airplane in the World
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Five Knots Every Boy Should Know
Stickball
Slingshots
Fossils
Building a Treehouse
Making a Bow and Arrow
Fishing (revised with US Fish)
Timers and Tripwires
Baseball's "Most Valuable Players"
Famous Battles-Including Lexington and Concord, The Alamo, and Gettysburg
Spies-Codes and Ciphers
Making a Go-Cart
Navajo Code Talkers' Dictionary
Girls
Cloud Formations
The States of the U.S.
Mountains of the U.S.
Navigation
The Declaration of Independence
Skimming Stones
Making a Periscope
The Ten Commandments
Common US Trees
Timeline of American History

[Redemption]

Thanks to everyone that added.
Good stuff.
I'm excited to continue this skill building
with my boys.
They love it too.

[Silent Kube]

Two books which have great ideas and skill sets in them for your kids are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outdoor_Book_for_Adventurous_Boys

Here is a list of the Chapters:

The Great Outdoors

1. What to Wear for an Outdoor Adventure
2. How to Predict the Weather
3. Star Spotting
4. Riding Your Bike Off-Road
5. Building a Tree-house
6. How to Make a Rope Swing
7. Making Camp
8. Putting Up Your Tent
9. Camp Furniture
10. Building and Cooking on a Campfire
11. Campfire Songs
12. Stories Around the Camp Fire
13. Exploring Tide-pools
14. How to Use a Snorkel and Flippers
15. How to Paddle a Kayak
16. How to Use Binoculars

Fun and Games

1. Finding Fossils
2. How to Skip Stones
3. Rock Climbing
4. How to Ski
5. How to Skate
6. Puddle Curling
7. Snow and Ice Sculpture
8. Sailing a Sailboat
9. How to Surf
10. Building a Mega-Sandcastle
11. How to Play Dodgeball
12. Capture the Flag
13. Throwing and Catching a Boomerang
14. Making a Kite
15. Beach-Towel Volleyball

Wilderness Survival

1. Assembling a Survival Kit
2. Find Your Way with a Map and Compass
3. Crossing a River
4. How Thick is the Ice?
5. Facing Up to a Charging Bull
6. How to Avoid Being Struck by Lightning
7. Hitches and Lashings-Some Useful Knots
8. How to Make a Whistle
9. Collecting and Purifying Water
10. Making a Stretcher
11. How to Make a Slingshot
12. Make a Bow and Arrow
13. Tracking
14. Secret Signs and Messages
15. Traps and Snares
16. How to Catch a Rabbit in a Hole
17. The Ojibwa Bird Pole
18. How to Fish
19. How to Catch Crabs by Handline
20. How to Tickle a Trout
21. How to Gut and Clean a Fish

Clever Inventions

1. Make a Tin-Can Telephone
2. Make a Water-Powered Rocket
3. Build a Glider
4. Build Your Own Go-Kart
5. Make an Exploding Popsicle Stick Frisbee
6. Make a Water Bomb
7. Make a Popgun
8. Make a Rubber-Band-Powered Boat
9. Make a Hot-Air Balloon
10. Make Your Own Windmill
11. Make a Sled

Extreme Survival

1. Light a Fire without Matches
2. Make a Birch Bark Torch
3. Pit Cooking
4. Make a Spoon
5. Make a Flint Knife
6. Build a Bivouac
7. Build an Igloo
8. Construct a Log Raft
9. Evasion and Camouflage
10. Sea Survival
11. Escape from Quicksand
12. What to Do if You're Caught in an Avalanche
13. Poisonous Snakes and How to Avoid Them
14. Poisonous Insects and Spiders
15. How to Wrestle a Crocodile
16. Escaping a Bear Attack

and:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dangerous_Book_for_Boys

The completely revised American Edition includes:

The Greatest Paper Airplane in the World
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Five Knots Every Boy Should Know
Stickball
Slingshots
Fossils
Building a Treehouse
Making a Bow and Arrow
Fishing (revised with US Fish)
Timers and Tripwires
Baseball's "Most Valuable Players"
Famous Battles-Including Lexington and Concord, The Alamo, and Gettysburg
Spies-Codes and Ciphers
Making a Go-Cart
Navajo Code Talkers' Dictionary
Girls
Cloud Formations
The States of the U.S.
Mountains of the U.S.
Navigation
The Declaration of Independence
Skimming Stones
Making a Periscope
The Ten Commandments
Common US Trees
Timeline of American History

I may have to pick those up for myself. lol