Tips for Hiking with Kids
You can have a lot of fun with your kids on a hiking trip, but they can also complicate things. If you have never tried to take children on a lengthy hiking excursion, you may need some help planning out the trip so that everything goes smoothly. If you have taken kids with you before and ended up with more problems than you expected, this article might prove helpful for your next outing.
Plan for Extra Time
Kids might not move at the same pace you do. They will need extra rest stops, restroom breaks, snack breaks, and preparation time. If you are trying to stick to a tight schedule for your hiking day, prepare to throw that out the window once kids are involved. They also like to explore, and they may constantly try to get you to take alternate routes or check things out along the trail. You can either humor them or keep pushing on, but remember that they are naturally exploratory-minded. You’ll have less cranky kids if you let them take time to explore and don’t push them too hard.
Bring Extra Supplies
You think you have your food and drinks precisely figured out from the hike, but kids can be unpredictable. Don’t let them pack their own food and water, as they will probably under-pack, leaving them to take from your supply when there's runs out.
It’s wise to bring more water and snacks than you think you will need, just to be on the safe side. You should also bring extra first aid supplies and whatever else you might need to use on the hike. Any consumable, like matches or other items, should be brought in excess when you have kids along, not only because of the extra people in your party but also because of accidents kids can cause that may damage supplies.
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Dress Kids for Easy Visibility
The kids you take hiking with you can tend to wander all over the place, so you want to make them easy to spot. If you give them high-visibility vests to wear or have them put on an article of brightly colored clothing, that will make things a lot simpler for you. Make sure that whatever they are wearing that is meant to be visible from a distance or through the foliage is not something they are likely to take off, such as a hat, scarf, or gloves. Also, consider packing kids pajamas to keep your child warm and comfortable during the night in the tent.
Explain the Rules
Before you get to the hiking destination, take time to talk the kids through what’s expected of them and what rules you want them to follow. Tell them who they need to stick with, whether they are allowed to go out of your sight, what kinds of things they can and cannot touch, how to keep themselves safe, and what to do if they get separated. You can supply them with whistles or another noisemaker to help them get back in contact with the rest of the group if someone gets lost. Remember that cell phones may not work where you are hiking.
If you wait to explain the rules to the kids once you arrive at the hiking spot, the kids may be so distracted and wired up that they don’t pay any attention to you. It’s best to go through everything beforehand and make sure the kids understand what’s expected of them.
Keep It Tidy
Kids will naturally want to disturb things and play around in nature as they hike, but you should remind them that they are passing through the habitats of different creatures and that they need to leave as little trace as possible. Tell them ahead of time that they need to fill in any holes they make, leave all nests and animal homes alone, and pick up after themselves. Bring a bag for trash so that there is no excuse for kids to leave garbage behind outdoors.
Assign Adults to Children
You may not be able to keep track of all the kids yourself, especially if you are going in a large group. So, have each of the adults be responsible for a reasonable number of children, assigning them to particular children at the start. This way, you only have to worry about a few kids and don’t have to micromanage all of them. Make sure the kids know who they are assigned to and who they should stay with during the entire excursion.
Choose responsible adults to watch over kids and consider having some of the older kids watch some of the younger ones so that there is less work for the adults to do.
Plan Extra Downtime
When you get back from the hike, you may need a little rest, but how much rest have you planned for the kids? They will probably be more tired than you because they will likely be more active than you during the hike. As you take a straight path through the forest, they will likely be winding back and forth on all sides of the path as they check things out. They may seem to be full of energy during much of the excursion, but they will likely be very drained afterward. Plan to give them plenty of downtime after you get back home, leaving chores for another time or hiring a professional cleaning service such as NYC House Cleaners (go to their site) to take over so that you all can catch up on your rest.
Final Checks
Before you head off on the hike, check everything over yourself. Don’t expect the kids to be able to pack things for themselves or remember all they need to pack. Don’t assume anything when it comes to kids, as you may be thinking on a different wavelength than they are. If you take these extra precautions, you’ll have a more enjoyable hike and deal with fewer surprises along the way. Some surprises on your hike are great, like spotting an animal you didn’t expect, but you don’t want any surprises when it comes to what you thought was packed for the trip.
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