The woman that babysits my kids while I am at work wants to take the kids to KOA for three days. I trust her with them but wish I could go. I will be working so I cannot and I wanted to make a PSK for them to take with them. They are 8 (boy) and 6 (girl). What would you put in an Altoids tin for them? Would you use something else?

IMHO you should absolutely include a whistle and a plastic shelter of some type... a poncho would probably be best.

If you haven't already, then I would look at Doug's equipment list for kids even though your kids may be too young for some of it. As a matter of fact if youre interested in kids' survival this section of the Equipped to Survive Website is a good place to get started in general.

Hi,

I wouldn't give them an Altoids-sized tin. It's way too small and the items you're going to be putting in there will be hard to use for kids.

I would have a tendency to give them a cheap camera bag stuffed with a poncho, a cheap space blanket, a flashlight, Band-aids, a whistle. Make sure they carry at all times, along with a hat on their heads and a water bottle.

Two kids camping together along with an adult probably doesn't require carrying P-38s and sewing needles (by the kids, at least! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Just my opinion.


Bee

For that age, a whistle and instructions on how to remain safe are probably the most useful. A jacket and water would be nice, but will they always keep these with them?

They should both have a info card on their bodies at all times. Name, address, phone contact, which KOA they're staying at, meds, allergies, etc.

I'd teach them how to use a cellphone and them give them yours (if you have one). Put your work and home numbers on speed dial buttons and thell them "press and hold 2 to get me", or whatever your phone supports in this regard. Might be the last time you ever see your working cellphone again!

I saw a blurb in the paper about these "kid" cellphones. Looks pretty interesting -- might save your $100 phone, too. (Edit: OK, maybe not, the going rate is $99 on the website.) <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

http://www.fireflymobile.com/

If you think something is so dangerous that your 7 yo needs a cellphone, I would rethink what you are letting them do.

Now that is a darn good piece of advice! I have to say that I now agree 100% with duckear's thoughts.

After replying earlier, I had some second thoughts. Whistles, info cards, cellphones, etc. are all tools that help them get OUT of a bad situation AFTER they've gotten in to it. Your job should be to keep the kids far from any bad situations in the first place. Frankly, at their age, they will not be all that great at getting themselves out of trouble - no matter how well you equip them.

I would be very nervous if "the babysitter" asked to take my kids for three days. That would just be too weird for me. You trust this babysitter 100%, right? Not 99.999%, but 100%?

As Brian noted the sections of ETS on kids gives very good information. I have been a cub scout den leader for a few years and Doug's information is as good as I have seen on the subject.

Pay attention to how you dress them. Make sure they wear good shoes (old nasty but comfortable shoes are fine). Pack bright colored clothes. Do not put them in camo. I found some hunter orange caps on sale and bought some for my cub scouts. It sure helps keep track of them on hikes.

I had the boys (and siblings) in my Cub Scout den create survival kits. We went through the Hug-a-Tree information that I could find on the web.

My kids (ages 9 & 10) wear them whenever we are out and about. In addition to this they are "usually" carrying a 1 qt wide-mouth Nalgene bottle with them. I recently switch them from the Lexan bottles to the translucent white HDPE (poly) bottles because of the controversy over Lexan, though I still use the Lexan bottles.

We start with a small cheap fanny pack:

<>whistle on a coiled wrist strap from orientaltrading.com; since then I replaced the cheap whistles with WindStorm whistles

<>two 33 gallon 2 MIL orange garbage bags from spectrumtrashbags.com (with prior instructions/practice on how to tear a face hole)

<>Princeton Tec keychain light from campmor.com fastened to whistle wrist band

<>Orange bandana from wholesaleforveryone.com

<>We've recently added small lockblade Gerber LST knives to my kid's kits, though they are a bit too young to make much use of them if lost.

<>I've recently been thinking about adding a folded quart sized Ziplock bag and some Aquapur tablets - I think they are old enough to use them

Soon I'll probably add a bigger knife, a mini Bic lighter, and DEET lotion, but quite not yet

Quite often they are carrying FRS radios while "exploring" nearby woods, just to allow us to keep in touch.

Eventually my plan is to give each kid one of Doug's PSP's with a few additional bits added. I've already bought one for my son who will be starting in Boy Scouts next spring.

Much more importantly, I have ground into their minds the understanding that we need to know where they are going, and as soon as they realize they are lost (defined as not sure where they are or where they should go) that they need to STOP, look for a place where they can most easily be seen (found) and wait to be found. I've also emphasized that they must be careful not to fall in water or get wet.

I disagree. Not that I am running out and buying a cell phone for my two-year-old or anything like that <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />, however a means to call for help is invaluable in lots of situation that start off normal and then become dangerous due to unforseen circumstances such as weather or injury to a supervising adult or any host of other possibilities. My son is two so I haven't even gotten him to effectvelly use a whistle yet, let a lone a cell phone. When we go in the woods together (which we do quite often) I dress him in the brightest orange jumper I can find, and thats about all I can do in my situation. The point is that you do the best you can for your kids in your specific situation. For some that may be a Snoopy satellite phone <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> and for others it may just be bright orange clothing. For most it probably falls somewhere in between. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

"Whistles, info cards, cellphones, etc. are all tools that help them get OUT of a bad situation AFTER they've gotten in to it. Your job should be to keep the kids far from any bad situations in the first place."

I'm going to disagree on that.

First, most American parents try to shield their kids from everything, all the time, under all conditions. This isn't doing them any real favors.

Second, you AREN'T going to be able to protect your kids from everything. That falls into the "wishful thinking" category.

Third, if YOU can get yourself into a sticky situation, due to your own negligence or plain bad luck, why would you think kids are immune to the same things?

Kids can be pretty smart, if they're allowed to be, but NOT with mommy & daddy doing all their thinking for them. Sure, they can have the attention span of a fruit fly, and they do dumb stuff. Face it. Deal with it. Teach them to deal with the consequences of their decisions. (I know that's not PC and is fiercely un-American!) <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Maybe the woman is just fine. You know her. But on your next free days off, why don't YOU take them camping? Have a little bag of stuff for them, and show them how to use it. Talk to them. Teach them. Kids can learn foreign languages without even knowing they're learning anything. You can teach them to think for themselves. They're at the perfect age.

Sue

Um ... I'm not sure why you put that as a reply to me. I think you and I are in complete agreement here. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

BTW: I took my son for a hike yesterday afternoon and nothing bad happened. Nothing major... just about an hour of hiking and an hour of swiming in the Paluxy river and trying to catch minnows bare-handed. We were even able to assist a family that was lost. I guess to say that he "hiked" is not completely true. He is two years old so he rides on my back in one of these . It's pretty funny too because he makes everyone else (people of all ages) jealous. Seems that everyone wants to ride around in luxury. Okay, I'm drifting the thread... sorry... I'll stop. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

My son and I are like siamese twins, we go everywhere together. I teach them everything I can and we practice tons of stuff. I am trying to plan for that one thing that could go wrong when Mr. Murphy decides to drop in for a visit. What if the babysitter gets sick and Jimi needs to take charge and get help from a neighbor? What if they are walking and she falls down and breaks a leg? I like to pick peoples brains to see if there is something I can add/delete to make my kit better. BTW, my kids speak two languages fluently.

He said something that hit it on the head. "We help a family out that needed help". I don't want Jimi, Gemma and the babysitters family to be that family. The reason I am not going is that I have to work and the kids get along very well with the babysitter and her kids and I want them to go out and explore the world away from the ambilical cord.

Sorry, Brian! Yours was the last post on the thread & I just hit REPLY.

You parents who spend time with your kids and actually teach them useful things are so great! And your kids probably won't even realize it, ever, because they will think that everyone was raised like that. What a pity that parents like you aren't in the majority. Just think what this country could be like in 20 or 30 years!

Sue

Just like to make a point on the cellphone idea.

After the bombings in London, the ambulance authority requested the general public to "program" their cellphones with an "ICE" number, In Case of Emergency. Gives names and numbers of people to contact. List all contacts ICE1, ICE2 etc.
Now if your are going to loan a cellphone to your child and/or babysitter then, no one has to remember any specific name or number just look up ICE.

This maybe old news, but it's what sprang to mind when reading this thread and the subject of phones.

I have one of those for my 12mth old son, he loves it, my 3yr daughter sometimes gets jealous and my wife hates it because it and child are too heavy for her. So it doesn't get much use unfortunately.

I admire parents that take the time to go out and teach their children neat stuff like this. Typical city worker, home too late and weekends always seem to be taken up with shopping, or some DIY that absolutely has to be done now.

As they get older I hope to break this rut and use my kids as an "excuse" ( no, hate that word ) reason to get out and live abit.

Sorry...stepping off soap box nox. <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

"After the bombings in London, the ambulance authority requested the general public to "program" their cellphones with an "ICE" number, In Case of Emergency. Gives names and numbers of people to contact. List all contacts ICE1, ICE2 etc."

That's a very good idea and I'm going to do it right now. I wonder if American emergency responders are told to look for that over here? Maybe some of you EMT's could answer that?

Regards, Vince

Yes few local radio stations mantioned it with a support of new york city fire and police dept. But there seem to be no "real" push for such action and it will most likely die. I hope that somebody in washington or govt agencies would stand up and make a big public announcement. Personally I would love my patients to have stuff like that on their cellphones and not only for terrorist attacks but for any type of medical emergency.

All of my neighbors envy the relationship between my kids and I. They all say that they wish I were the father of their kids. Of course being the gentleman that I am I volunteer to assist them in any future endeavors to procreate. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Any or all of them? Hmmm.