First, GOOD PHOTOS, Pitdog. Bet that's a smart kid!
To me, the most important thing by far to teach kids is to SIT DOWN, GET COMFORTABLE, AND WAIT FOR SOMEBODY TO FIND THEM. Don't panic, don't run, don't hide, just sit and wait, because they will not be in trouble for screwing up. When I was 14 I set out from home on some Jeep trails near my house in Tennessee to break in a new pair of shoes. Yep, you guessed it, I got "turned around" and panic set in. I ran about 50 feet, made myself stop, collected my wits, went back to where I had been, drew a map in the dirt, and then I found my way back to a house where a man told me how to get back home. Lesson learned! Lesson indelibly imprinted on my brain!
I may be a little obsessive about this, but I strongly believe that everybody, ESPECIALLY KIDS AND OLD FOLKS, should carry a whistle at all times. A whistle is the single biggest aid in getting help when a kid is lost. Often I've read that a lost kid can hear rescuers looking for him, but he couldn't make himself heard when he tried to call out to them. A whistle is easy to blow even when one is exhausted. My mother is 85 and I have her trained to grab a lanyard that hangs on a nail beside her door before she even opens the door. She puts that lanyard around her neck and then she has a good whistle and her house key with her. A cell phone is more technology than she can handle, but she can still blow a whistle. I'm a gimpy old man now, and I carry my whistle everywhere, too, because my legs give out and I fall down about once a year and then I need some help.
The best whistles can be found at
http://www.wind-storm-whistles.com and there are two models. The loudest one is called the Storm and it costs $5.50, but the Wind Storm, a slightly smaller one, is more convenient, very nearly as loud, and it costs $4.50. I've tried both and I prefer the Wind Storm. I have also bought some decent little English whistles for only 99 cents from
http://www.eknifeworks.com. The stock number (letters only) is MISCW (in caps), they are only 75 cents each in quantity, but it says they are "temporarily out of stock" right now. I don't know if they will get more in. I keep in my van a couple of dozen of those and a few of the Wind Storm whistles to give to friends and old folks. When you issue a whistle to a kid be sure it's on a lanyard so he won't lose it.
After a whistle, visibility -- bright, vivid color -- is the next most important thing in being found when a kid is lost. Safety orange survey tape is an excellent idea. They should carry at least enough to make a circle several yards across and a few feet off the ground all around them when they sit down to wait for rescue. A signal mirror and the skill to use it is a good idea, too, and one can be hung on the same lanyard that holds their whistle.
Next is shelter and warmth, and the simplest way to achieve those is with a big trash bag. Try real hard to find one of the bright orange ones or at least use a white one because a black one hides a kid way too easily and they must be seen to be found. If you have to, find a road crew picking up trash and bribe them for a couple of their orange bags. Teach a kid to poke eye holes (or just enough of a hole for his face) near one corner so the corner itself will still function as hood to keep his head warm and to shed rain. Don't make arm holes. Arms stay inside. A trash bag can be packed small enough so a kid can easily carry it. It could even be attached to that same lanyard.
All the other survival tools and skills are great ideas, too, but a kid at the very least needs a whistle, some survey tape, and a trash bag to keep him warm and dry until help arrives. Train them well! :thumbup:
Cause sure as I sit here, they will want to practice those freshly learned skills when no one is around.
