Advice for kids training

B

beckerhead

Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
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I jumped into helping my sons Wed. night church group do a basic wilderness series. Ages are 6-10 many with ZERO experience.
The stuff needs to be totally basic, and sadly "sheeple safe". We are doing compass lessons tonight, and I need some advice for future lessons.
I was thinking maybe some rope & knot stuff, and what to do if you get lost.
Feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Beckerhead
 
water purification & plant identification, navigation by the stars, primative fire starting, primatrive first aid.

All of these things they would need to know to stay safe if lost.
 
building debris shelters would be a lot of fun for kids and really valuable if they got stuck outdoors overnight
 
Cantact your local police, scout group and or SAR group and ask for the "Hug a Tree" program to be presented to the kids, used to be called woodsproofing.

Designed for that exact and age group. You need to be VERY! simple. I dont even cover compass or navigation to this age group.

Talk about responsibility its ok if you get lost nobody will be mad with you.

Talk about basic shelter (Orange garbage bag with hole in it) , ground insulation with debris, get out of the wind. Leave sign for searchers. Its ok to talk to strangers when you are lost. Hammer home STOP! stay where you are.

Make up a basic kit and show them and their parents:

Small waist pack that goes on them and stays on them near wilderness settings.
Id tag with all info including medical
Whistle on a breakaway string (get the child to test it, most are not for kids lung capacity)
Snack that wont melt or is too yummy ;)
couple chemical handwarmers
role of surveyors tape, tie long strips to branches in the area they are lost
small toy
picture of family, laminated
Chemical light stick
Couple of kids bandaids
small easy to use LED light
2 orange garbage bags (demonstrate its use)

The hug a tree program covers all this and is the best tool out there for educating young kids.

Do not get too technical it will go in and out the ears. Get them involved with touching the gear and encourage questions. Demonstrait all gear so bring extras.

A child primer can be found here with some good info though based for a bit older children:

http://www.equipped.org/kidprimr.htm

Skam
 
Briggz said:
water purification & plant identification, navigation by the stars, primative fire starting, primatrive first aid.

All of these things they would need to know to stay safe if lost.
Click to expand...

All of that is too advanced for this age group. Hell its too advanced for most adults.

Skam
 
Two items I did not see above that my kids have are the USCG approved strobe that uses 1 D cell battery & a roll of surveyors tape-to string out while sleecting a comfy tree.

I wonder if a dog whistle might be worthwhile?


Beckerhead- if you do the kits, contact me for the bright orange bags.

2Door
 
water purification & plant identification, navigation by the stars, primative fire starting, primatrive first aid.

All of these things they would need to know to stay safe if lost.
Click to expand...

Mate, try engaging your brain before you post complete crap.
 
you can all take a friggin leap. Just trying to help. No one said theyuccessful but at least addressing the idea gets them thinking. I have a 6 yo who know Orion, big and little dippers, 7 sisters. Knows where to look and how to find them.

Knows not to drink stagnant water, how to boil water.

So Mate you engage you grey matter a little before posting nasty notes
 
My kids are absolute sponges and they are younger than 6 years old. They can learn and retain a lot of info, if, and only if, it is fun for them - if they are not into it, forget it!

I highly suggest demostrations, as even if they are not into it, but they see it, they learn...;)
 
lmalterna said:
Two items I did not see above that my kids have are the USCG approved strobe that uses 1 D cell battery & a roll of surveyors tape-to string out while sleecting a comfy tree.

I wonder if a dog whistle might be worthwhile?


Beckerhead- if you do the kits, contact me for the bright orange bags.

2Door
Click to expand...

Good point on the tape I forgot that, I will amend the list.;)

Skam
 
Briggz said:
you can all take a friggin leap. Just trying to help. No one said theyuccessful but at least addressing the idea gets them thinking. I have a 6 yo who know Orion, big and little dippers, 7 sisters. Knows where to look and how to find them.

Knows not to drink stagnant water, how to boil water.

So Mate you engage you grey matter a little before posting nasty notes
Click to expand...


It was a little harsh.

I have however seen full on bush skills being taught to young children and less than zero is learned. they maybe able to pick up some things but when they are lost and panicked its useless. Keep it simple and easy.

If you do nothing else teach them to not hide from strangers, they wont get into trouble and tie a whistle round their necks.

Skam
 
They pick stuff up pretty fast...
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Back yard with dad or on a walk with dad is one thing. Putting info learned to use in a non stress situation is entirely different when its dark and they are alone etc... Adults get panicked and forget the basics let alone children cold wet tired and beyond scared.

I remember when I was 8 I had an expert rifle shot at 100 yrds on targets. The first few times I hunted I couldnt hit a barn broadside due to nerves and forgot all I had learned. This is no different.

Keep it simple for them and never underestimate panic no matter how much training they have.

Skam
 
skammer said:
Back yard with dad or on a walk with dad is one thing. Putting info learned to use in a non stress situation is entirely different when its dark and they are alone etc... Adults get panicked and forget the basics let alone children cold wet tired and beyond scared.

I remember when I was 8 I had an expert rifle shot at 100 yrds on targets. The first few times I hunted I couldnt hit a barn broadside due to nerves and forgot all I had learned. This is no different.

Keep it simple for them and never underestimate panic no matter how much training they have.

Skam
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I am not doubting ya bro but that comes across as kind of negative and mildly insulting, by that train of thought we might as well not bother with any of this survival stuff then as we will probably panic and forget it all anyway !!!
 
pitdog said:
I am not doubting ya bro but that comes across as kind of negative and mildly insulting, by that train of thought we might as well not bother with any of this survival stuff then as we will probably panic and forget it all anyway !!!
Click to expand...


Dont mean to insult. I think its great you teach the kids skills! Just dont count on them to be able to think clearly if they get lost. With experience and age they will be superior woods people because of dad but for right now they are children and must be thought of as such.

I wouldnt leave out basics as they have learned something more advanced is all I am saying.

Adults have this problem let alone kids.

Skam
 
Something you may want to consider, from Laurence Gonzales' book "Deep Survival":

"One of the many baffling mysteries concerns who survives and who doesn't... The category that has one of the highest survival rates is children six and under... Despite the fact that small children lose body heat faster than adults, they often survive in the same conditions better than experienced hunters, better than physically fit hikers... And yet one of the groups with the poorest survival rates is children ages seven to twelve. Clearly, those youngest children have a deep secret that trumps knowledge and experience. Scientists do not know exactly what that secret is, but the answer may lie in basic childhood traits. At that age, the brain has not yet developed certain abilities. For example, small children do not create the sort of mental maps adults do. They don't understand traveling to a particular place, so they don't run to get somewhere beyond their field of vision. They also follow their instincts. If it gets cold, they crawl into a hollow tree to get warm. If they're tired, they rest, so they don't get fatigued. If they're thirsty, they drink. They try to make themselves comfortable and staying comfortable helps keep them alive. (Small children following their instincts can also be hard to find; in more than one case, the lost child actually hid from rescuers. One was afraid of "coyotes" when he heard the search dogs barking. Another was afraid of one-eyed monsters when he saw big men wearing headlamps. Fortunately, both were ultimately found.) The secret may also lie in the fact that they do not yet have sophisticated mental mapping ability that adults have, and so do not try to bend the map. They remap the world they're in. Children between the ages of seven and twelve, on the other hand, have some adult characteristics, such as mental mapping, but they don't have adult judgment. They don't ordinarily have the strong ability to control emotional responses and to reason their situation. They panic and run. They look for shortcuts... In learning to think like adults, it seems, they have suppressed the very instincts that might have helped them..." (pg. 171)
 
skammer said:
Dont mean to insult. I think its great you teach the kids skills! Just dont count on them to be able to think clearly if they get lost. With experience and age they will be superior woods people because of dad but for right now they are children and must be thought of as such.

I wouldnt leave out basics as they have learned something more advanced is all I am saying.

Adults have this problem let alone kids.

Skam
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My kid has been shown the basics and I don't expect him to remember everything I tell him but if he remembers so much he should do good.
Last year we had his cousins visit from the UK and my kid took them around the forests showing them what edibles there were, what berries to squeeze to use as antiseptic, what roots to boil up to cure a sore throat and what could be used to make a tea....some of this stuff is probably more than a lot of adults know !
 
Skammer,

Great post #4. Teaching kids skills is great fun but you have to take their psycology into account to teach them anything that will actually help if they get lost. Mac
 
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