I didn't want to hijack the camelback thread, so let's start a new one!



I'm of the opinion that they're never too young to start developing good habits. Don't ask them to carry too much for their size and weight, and keep it simple. A whistle on a lanyard, and a small backpack with small water bottle or juice box, a snack, a flashlight, and maybe a stuffie or favorite My Little Pony/Hot Wheels, are a good start. A jacket, extra socks and hats don't weigh much and shouldn't be too much for the average six year old. If he wants to take more, let him, but always be ready to shoulder his load for him. You don't want to suck the fun adventure out of it, and kids are less likely to be interested in or carry stuff as long as grown-ups are.

My bottom line? Teach them to stay with their group and teach them Hug-a-Tree. Teach them well but keep it fun.

I've said it many times here ...

Doug's Kid's Wilderness Survival Primer is the best writing on the topic I've found yet. I don't think there is such a thing as too young to go over it with kids. Put a tiny kit together - I like fanny packs for young-uns, and then go over the primer again regularly before heading out.

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

There is often not much difference between wandering off and being in the woods for a young child. All their personal references are gone.

Six is a good age to start playing the "What-If" game. Get them used to thinking what they would do if Mom and Dad weren't around and they found themselves in some common type of situation. This isn't a game where you TELL them what to do. You ask and actually LISTEN to their responses; it will also give you some insight on their thought processes.

You can also alternate the question-asking: you ask him one and work it out, then he can ask you one, and do the same, giving him multiple possibilities, or asking if he could think of something better.

Some of their answers will be ludicrous, many will be based on how they've interpreted what they've seen on TV (including cartoons). So have a two-way conversation, gently leading them to think in a rational manner.

You can play the game wherever you are, working it into the current situation and location.

* What would you do if you woke up tomorrow morning and no one else was home?

* What if you smelled smoke in the house, but couldn't see anything burning?

* What if (neighbor kid) said, "Let's walk down the RR tracks", or "Let's throw rocks at cars"?

* What if (friend) got his dad's handgun out and was playing with it?

* What if you couldn't wake up the babysitter?

* What if you saw the elderly neighbor lying on the ground in front of her house or on the sidewalk?

* What if an adult or older kid asked you if you wanted to go see some puppies and he would give you one?

* What if you saw the neighbor's toddler in the street?

Eventually, start incorporating actual lost/short-term survival scenarios into the quiz, and include some common equipment that he would probably find interesting: how to flash a mirror correctly, how to stop moving around (aka 'hug a tree') and blow his whistle in threes if he got lost in the woods outside a campground, how to honk the horn in threes if you fell down and hit your head, how to use a flashlight to attract attention. Etc.

As time goes by, start adding actual short-term survival situations into the agenda. Let him make a tarp shelter in the back yard and let him sleep out there overnight (with the back door unlocked). Show him how to collect rainwater for drinking. Show him how to use a tarp as a sleeping bag in fall, heaping lots of leaves under and over it for insulation.

The bottom line is to train him to think for himself. Some kids get killed or injured because they're so used to being told what to do that they're incapable of making a decision on their own, esp when they're hanging around older kids who are stupid or mean.

Sue

This is where their camelbak's come into play. I'll backtrack a little. We travel some with my parents being in another state and we've stayed in state park lodges and camped out a couple times. Each time we go I take my "go bag" or if we have to stay in the basement through a tornado watch I take my go bag with me. This year I replaced my old backpack with a nice Camelbak as we started going on bike rides that were longer than one water bottle. Got one for my wife and the Camelbak Skeeter for my son. He liked having it on and wanted to carry stuff like I did. I'll pack food and socks and such in mine so we can stop and take a snack break.
This year we added fishing and hiking so I'm upgrading his Camelbak to the next one up and getting one for my daughter too.
So the plan is to put a clif bar or two and some trail mix or something else for snacking. I'll get those small bags of mixed nuts or peanuts and we found these slimjim like beef sticks that also come with a cheese stick in the package. Kids like those and the Clif Crunch and Mojo bars. So I wanted to teal them what to do if they would get separated from us for some reason, first never leave their pack for any reason and second find a tree and sit under it and blow their whistle so we can listen to it and find them. Then between the water in their camelbak and some food they should be set for a while. I'm planning on doing with their packs like mine, add one item at a time so the weight gain is not noticeable.
We've done a lot of the various what if's as Sue mentioned (well no what if the babysitter does whatever since we don't have a babysitter), I just didn't put those details in the Camelbak post because I was narrowing the scope down to just Camelbaks.

They actually have their own "go bags" now, matching Dora and Diego backpacks. I have them keep a flashlight or two, each has a compass, my son my old one from when I was in cub scouts, my daughters was from a chik fil a meal, each has a small plastic binoculars, etc. They take them when we travel.
I would liked to have gotten the larger Camelbak Scout to replace their go bags with better packs but I was afraid they would put too much in them. So for now the smaller one will have to do. So I figured I would start there and start buying decent gear, small Leatherman, real compass, real hiking socks, lights, etc a little at a time then when they outgrow these packs move to the larger ones. I took the brand new bladder from his new one to put it in the skeeter so I could sell it with an unused bladder and keep his used bladder from the skeeter for the mini mule.

Giving children their own pack (brightly colored with reflective trim) -- not overloaded -- is excellent strategy. Camping vacations could also be used to educate as well as entertain.

Have these discussions on the trail. Show the kids how not to get lost and what to do if it happens. Build their confidence and skills.

Have these discussion at the shopping mall. What they should do if separated from you in an urban environment.

I grew up camping and one of my earliest treasures was a compass -- when I was 7 years old. Orienteering would bolster not just survival skills but basic math.

When I was growing up in Los Angeles (1960s-70s), we had stainless ID bracelets that we (my brother and I) wore religiously. I'm presuming that was some school-based program but am not sure on that.

I still have that bracelet. What tiny wrists I had....

Let's see, backpack contents for 6-year old:

whistle
tiny, super-lightweight LED light (Petzl e+light would be perfect)
light stick
blaze orange bandanna
written instructions (laminated, in kid-speak) on what to do if lost in the woods and in the city
nutrition bar (not so yummy they'd want to eat it like a Hershey bar)
bandaids
pen and paper
garbage bag (with practice on using as a poncho)
Kleenex packet (toilet paper and runny nose)

That wouldn't weigh much. Perhaps the adults should periodically update the backpack with a new comic book that would keep the child occupied, in one place for a bit and not focused on fear.

I don't have any kids, so a question for you with 6 year olds... do they have enough strength to open 1/2 liter bottles of water with the ridiculously small twist off caps?

Getting caps off can be challenging, and putting them back on even more so.

For toddlers, sippy cups work great. For older kids, I like the small Rubbermaid bottles that are a little bigger than a juice box and have a flip top. Whn they're a little bigger, there are also SS & nalgene water bottles with sippy straws that work great. (For the unintiated, "sippy" straws are one-way, only work when sipped on and, if well made and attached properly, won't leak. At least not until they've been abused a bit.)

Here's a post I did years ago for five year olds:

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=7286&Number=73420#Post73420