mpb has an important point too.

I believe that when we're dealing with youngsters, we should be introducing them to new experiences, following their lead, and helping them pursue the ones they find interesting. My son loves hiking, camping, canoeing and survival stuff but if he’d rather go to a friend’s birthday party next weekend instead of Cub Camp, that’s ok. He’s also learning that we all have responsibilities that we have to live up to. I can’t take him to the birthday party next weekend because I have to go to camp. I’m a leader and committed to being there for the safety and enjoyment of all the other kids in our group. Likewise, he can’t just bail on his soccer team because he’d rather ride his bike. He made a commitment to his team and it isn’t fair to them not to live up to that commitment.

Kids aren’t little adults. They do need to be kids and have fun. (In fact, I’d argue that a lot of us adults need to try to have a little more fun like they do!) Too much responsibility before they're ready for it isn't healthy and, frankly, is an exercise in frustration for everyone. I’m lucky to be blessed with a kid that has to be dragged inside not the other way around. He lives to explore his world and it’s our job to make sure he gets lots of opportunity to do that, and also to make sure he does it safely. Following their lead doesn’t mean an absence of parental responsibility, authority or expectations. I don’t expect him to remember much in the face of fun. I pack “just in case” supplies for him and if he wants to help pack or carry them – great! If not, it’s no biggie. I also make him wear a hat and sunscreen in the sun, wear a life jacket in the canoe, wear his lanyard in the bush, put his snow pants on in the winter, etc. Hopefully someday, those parental reminders will turn into healthy habits in him.

That said, fear can easily become the driving force behind being prepared and that's not healthy for kids. We need to be careful not to thrust our fears on our children. If they're preparing because they're worried, we need to address that, reassure them, and not let that fear grow. We should be empowering them not making them fearful. When my son started building his own survival kits, we had to be certain it wasn’t because he was scared, and if it was, reassure and teach him. Turns out he usually just wanted to be like Les Stroud!

My son really wants to carry a knife and matches, and do a survivorman overnight, but he's simply too impulsive and too uninformed. We need to provide guidance and teaching so that he learns to do things safely and with forethought. Again, we need to be mindful of his maturity and level of understanding and not overload him. We’ll help him get there but it’s going to take time and patience to learn and understand what he needs to before he can do some of the things he wants to. Much like building a house, you have to build the foundation first and then do the framing, then the electrical and plumbing, then the…. You don’t just snap your fingers and move in.

He loves taking responsibility for packing and carrying his own gear and helping out with things like building campfires, doing minor first aid (read: bandaids, afterbite), setting up camp, taking care of dishes garbage/feed, etc., and he’s constantly fiddling with his PSK. He makes lots of mistakes and is learning about consequences, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let him get hypothermia sleeping in a soaking wet sleeping bag because he forgot to close his waterbottle. That's my job.

It’s all still fun for him and that’s as it should be. When that changes, then it’s time to stop and rethink things.