Since you are making up Bug-Out kits, they should JUST be bug-out kits, not toys to drag along to a grocery store with Mom. And I wouldn't "trust" them to make the choices of what goes in them, except maybe for a toy.

You make up the BOBs for all. You make sure they know what everything is for. You explain that this is just for emergencies. You keep all the BOBs together (fastened together, if necessary). If you have to bug out, you and wife take your kits, give kids their kids (backpack styles) and instruct them to keep them with them until you get to where you're going.

Six & eight aren't toddlers. This seems like a good time to start them thinking about being responsible for themselves. A friend of mine would play a game called "What would you do if...?" She trotted out every idea of every situation that her kids could possibly get into that she could think of. They did it while eating lunch, while driving in the car, going to the park, walking the dog.

"What would you do if Spot ran across the street right now?"
"What would you do if a man says he wants to show you some cute puppies?"
"What would you do if your friend Lisa sprained her ankle in the park?"
"What would you do if all the lights went out when just the babysitter was with you at home?"
"What would you do if you smelled smoke in the house and I was outside talking to Mrs. Jones?"

She would ask the question, and the kids would come up with some answers (some incredibly outlandish!). She would guide their thinking with further questions about that particular situation.

She said she knew that it wasn't realistic for her to think that she would always be nearby. Her idea was to get them to think about how to deal with the real (& often unexpected) things that happen in life. She hoped that the discussions would at least plant something in their minds that they could fall back on in a scary situation.

By the time that I met them, the kids were actually thinking for themselves, and would often come up with several alternates for what they could do. And sometimes they would turn the tables and ask HER what SHE would do.

OTOH, if you're talking EveryDay Carry.... <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Sue