A simple kit for kids

I know there have been a few discussions around here about emergency kits for kids, but I thought I'd share one I just put together for a group of Cubs (ages approximately 7 - 10).

The kit was built to go along with a hug-a-tree level of training & knowledge. To this end, I really saw three categories of needs the kit should try to meet; signalling, shelter, comfort (psychologically speaking).

Here is the kit as put together in a zip-lock bag:



And here are the contents all spread out:



It worked out to about $10.50 per kit to make 20 kits. The contents are:

• a Fox-40 whistle
• an MEC Turtle light
• an orange garbage bag with a pre-cut face hole
• 5 band-aids
• ~8 feet of duck tape
• ~7.5 feet of florescent pink, reflective flagging tape
• a fruit snack
• a laminated instruction card

The instruction car reads:

Once you think you are lost, hug-a-tree
By staying in one place you are easier for us to find.

Your family will NOT be angry with you
Even adults get lost sometimes - so don't worry. No one will be angry.

Call for help with your whistle
Your whistle is louder than your voice and is easier to use for a long time. Blow your whistle 3 times in a row, wait a little while then blow 3 more times. Keep doing this!

Make yourself seen
Put colourful tape or other colourful & shiny items in the trees around you. Take out your garbage bag and either wear it or put it where it can be seen. These colours are not natural and will help get our attention. If you hear a helicopter wave your arms or a brightly coloured bag or coat. You can also use a mirror to get a helicopter's attention.

Stay warm
Cover up as best as you can, pull your hands into your jacket, pull up your hood, use any extra clothes you have. If it rains or is just cold, use your garbage bag like a rain coat (make a hole for your face and put the garbage bag over your head). Don't sit directly on the ground, sit on your garbage bag or something else.

Animals are afraid of humans 
If you hear a noise at night, blow your whistle or yell at it! If it is an animal it will run away and if it is a searcher you will be found!

You have hundreds of friends looking for you
Searchers will be calling your name - they are NOT angry, they just want to find you! Even if you don't know them, lots of people will be helping us find you - even people you haven't met before. Don't be afraid to let them know where you are!

These instructions were inspired and partially taken from the RCMP's hug-a-tree info with some other information mixed in, including some from a presentation the local SAR group gave to the kids last year.

We gave these out at camp as the reward for completing a scavenger hunt and then had a session on how to use the kit and what to do when lost.

All in all, I think things came together pretty well.

I like it!

That is excellent! Very simple and straight forward. If I was in charge of a cub pack I would make sure my cubs carried that with them anytime they were outdoors (hopefully along with a jacket and water bottle).

That's a good kit, looks just the right size for young kids to carry, and all the basics they need.

I know you've already handed these out, but you did say you'd already cut a face hole, and in the instructions you say "make a hole for your face" (Sorry - just spent the weekend validating data entry ...)

Another pointer to consider giving is to actively listen for searchers. It is possible to be so actively blowing your whistle (or shouting)that you exhaust yourself, so alternating whistle blasts (3 groups of 3 blasts if fairly standatd in this part of the world) with a longer period of listening (several minutes)is a good strategy.

I think this is excellent. While my kids are currently too young to read reliably, I'm filing this away for when they're a little older.

Maybe I'll have them help me assemble the kits, so they know what's inside and what it's for.

Again, I really like this!

Maybe one suggestion; add an instruction for the use of the MEC light. There is nothing mentioning it now. I think they will tend to use it as a flashlight to help them see. They may not realize that it can also be used to be seen, especially with this light which has a blink mode, which would help attract attention at night.

Perhaps under the "Make yourself seen" instruction, add something like "at night, turn on light to blink mode and keep it on outside your cloths or the bag if you are wearing it. Since there is no mirror in the kit, delete that instruction and use the light instruction instead. Proper use of a mirror to signal an aircraft/helicopter is probably too advanced for this level. The blinking light IMO is better.

Outstanding! My wife's Brownie troop had a lower budget, so all we could really afford was a whistle (Fox 40 Micro) and a pocket first aid kit. I presented to them on using the whistle and "hug a tree."

They've got more money this year (cookies and Fall Product have been lucrative) and they're out and about more, so we might do something similar to this.

Nice kit Denis! It's got the basics and is also a great foundation for your older Cubs to build upon.

Well DONE!Thanks for sharing the kit!

very good..and just to have the kit should give them the idea that adults have their safety in mind even if they never have to use the kit.

I really like this. Especially the part where you reassure the
child adults won't be angry with them.

Searchers hate it when the subjects hide or travel due to embarrassment about being lost. Or fines.

This applies to adults too.
Perhaps some of these type instructions should be included on
training and reference material for adults.

(If my baby was getting bitten by a lot of skeeters and there was
West Nile in the area, I wouldn't fault a new mom for calling
for help from the middle of a corn maze.)

Denis... nice job... a suggestion...include a piece of silvered mylar to the back of the laminated directions to act as a signal mirror, have the parents buy some Scotch reflective tape, and tape the edges of both sides of the card with reflective tape...add a hole to the corner, a small length of monofiliament line, and a snap swivel to the free end to hook to a low branch for a wind driven oscillating reflector when not actively using the mirror...

possibly a second bag for ground cloth, or lower bivvy bag

How about pictograms or symbols instead of written instructions?

Great kit:
agree on the flashlight inst. but perhaps that could
be covered with a demonstration when you hand out the kit.

One item I would consider added or perhaps replacing is the
florescent tape, you need more of it.
Replace it with a survey roll 150ft in the kit.
If someone gets lost teach them to tie off one end of the roll
and unroll the entire 150ft. in a line across a terrain feature, trail, uphill, a line away from a creek etc.
then tie the end to there belt or tree they are hugging. By doing this
someone will be sure to cross the line during a search and follow it
to the "camper". Survey tape work 24/7 used in this manner.

You have no idea how often a searcher will come close and pass a target without seeing them. This happens for many reasons, a sleeper, fright, hidden in a shelter etc. etc. its easier than you think.

Very nice kit and note card.

I've been thinking of making up one of these for a little guy I know.

Me. ;-)

Very nice, very well thought out!

It might not hurt to actually run the kids through a "practice session" in a park or private property, to actually have them think about, and go through, what they need to do for the real thing. Then, if they need to actually use the kit, they will have 'experience' to fall back on, so it's embedded, which may help to avoid panic.

Sue

We did that with the Brownie Troop, and I think it really got them thinking about what they need to do.

If you were to switch the turtle light for one from dealextreme it'll cut the cost of the kit by over 30%.

Thanks for the encouragement and feedback. There are definately some good things to consider if I do a v2 of the kit and/or training.


Good call; I did cover this with the kids but it would make sense to be on the card. When I wrote the card I was still thinking I'd include a mirror, but it would've doubled the cost and we ultimately figured that for its usefulness given our goals it just wasn't worth the cost.


I really like this idea and agree this could be very useful. I just have no idea how I'd do this .


I definitely think there is room to improve the cost of this kit. I planned & put together these in a couple days so the costs are definitely last minute, found locally shopping costs .

I like this kit Denis. The only thing I'd add, provided the budget magically appears, would a lanyard. Less chance of the kit falling out of a pocket that way.

I liked the part that said
"Your family will NOT be angry with you
Even adults get lost sometimes - so don't worry. No one will be angry."

I think that it is so important for the children to know they are not in trouble and that people WANT to find them.

The kit looks great

What a great and simple kit. These basic steps will go a long way if anyone gets lost in the woods! I applaud your effort with this!

Website for gleaning training ideas.

http://www.tahoenordicsar.com/Education/4thGrade/

Great kit...I will totally be using this template.

Switching the Fox for an generic pea-whistle would also cut a lot of overhead on this kit for nominal dB loss.

Pea-whistles dont work well when wet,Fox-40's work underwater,You want the Best for the Kids,don't you?

Denis, good job on the kit. It is very important to instill in the child that if they become lost, they will not be in trouble when found by and adult; child mentality makes the lost child afraid of that, and they hide to avoid detection.

Some good suggestions here, except for ones to skimp on quality of kit contents. You want a reliable flashlight and a loud whistle. Good choices, I don't think putting two of that type of torch in the kit is excessive, unless you are sure that one will run about 8 to 10 hours.

Staying put (hugging a tree) may make the difference between being found the first night or not being found at all.

A thought about the ribbon. It's a good idea and it has been in use for years. Another thought is mylar ribbon, as used to scare birds from ag fields. Something like this, but there are other brands and sizes: http://www.birdbusters.com/shop/catalog/Bird_Scare_Flash_Tape_1_2_in_X_300ft-p-13.html
It is thinner, so you can carry more in the same space. It is not only brightly colored (this one silver and red), as is the surveying tape, it is passively reflective, so it gives you about twice the use/visibility as the colored tape alone.

Whichever method you use, you may want the kids to personalize the ribbon/tape with their names every few feet or so with permanent pen, then repackage it. It could be an activity for a safety meeting.

Nice kit. I like the simplicity.

When I did this for Scout years ago we found low cost fanny packs at orientaltrading.com that worked well.

Same site also had cheap whistles on sproingy wrist bands by the dozen. Not Fox 40s, but were plenty loud.

I like the bright orange switched LED keychain lights that countycom.com has. No blinking mode, but I'm OK with that. BTW, personally I'd have them save the battery on the light and tell them not to use it - not even in a blinking mode - unless scared and "just checking" or if they hear searchers calling for them.

The hardest part to find seemed to be the orange bags.

The toughest part of the whole thing is to get the kids to carry the kits.

Great kit! Its a wonderful idea!

I'll start with this premise and modify for my kids.

Be Prepared to Survive has orange bags. No affiliation. I haven't tried them, but I have seen them on their site.

"Interesting" name. Gee, I wonder what inspired that name?

HJ

Might I suggest one of the angled marine safety whistles


I paid $2 for one of these at Sports Chalet a couple of years back. They're marine whistles so they're lower pitched (figure about 2 KHz) and lack the charateristic "trill" of the pea whistles. They're also very loud and are near indestructable.

I've always thought pealess was better -- the "peas" can get wet which could impede them, particularly in winter. The pea could freeze to the body of the whistle.

However, you're way better off getting a whistle with a pea than no whistle at all!

HJ

Nothing in this kit is the best. It's simple, small and most importantly affordable and the more affordable it is the more accessible it is. I'm sure the perfect kit would have a Fox40, a DR Photon, AMK bivvy, and a PLB.

Common sense points directly to the whistle as being the single-most Important item in this kit,therefore " the best" is referred to the whistle!Don't let being thrifty,override common sense!

My thoughts exactly, I would agree that the whistle is the most important item in this kit and that the Fox-40, from everything I've read, is the best choice (its what I choose for myself too).

As for the other high-cost item, the light, I do not feel this is the best choice in retrospect. It was the lowest cost, compact option that I knew of locally (I put these together in under a week, with the shopping actually being done in the last 2 days before camp - there wasn't a lot of shopping around involved!). The big problem with the Turtle light is the ease with which it can be accidentally turned on.

As others have suggested, the County Comm light might be a better choice both from a cost & functionality perspective; not only are they cheaper but it looks like they wouldn't be as easy to accidentally turn on. I've no experience with these but have heard good things.

Normally I wouldn't have considered this an option since County Comm doesn't ship to Canada, but I've just found out there is a site selling their products which does ship to Canada; something I'll try to keep in mind for the future.

That said, I look at the light as being lower in the level of importance for this kit. In my mind this item fits primarily in the psychological comfort category, with the signalling aspect being its secondary purpose.

The County Comm lights are a mixed bag. Nice light with a slide switch but the attachment point for the keyring breaks easily.

edit:

I ordered their 10 for 10 or something like that special. Easy battery change but the keyring breaking would be a big minus.

what are opinions?... the cost to potential benefit of including a high quality chem light with a short piece of string... to circle overhead to attract attention of aerial SAR or hang from low branch to attract ground SAR

The storage durability of chemlights has been questioned before. While the signalling ability may be a plus it's taking space away from a useful light source. Even the best chemlights are only rated for 12 hours of use. How well do chemlights work in the daylight? When are SAR operations usually called off for the night?

This x100. They're nice lights but that keyring sucks. There is also the possibility of the light getting stuck on and dying.

I have a bunch of their SOLEDs, which is the same light on a strong clip. I have a couple clipped to my BOB and they work pretty good for that. Unfortunately they're not selling as many colors as they used to.

One thing I do like is that they ship with a little plastic doohickey that keeps the switch from activating accidentally. I keep those in place.

I thought this was patently false; only works in Hollywood (Rambo). There is not near enough luminosity.

My $.02

Chem lights do have issues with storage and reliability, but so do some batteries !

One important consideration is that this is a kids kit, and "hug a tree" is the guiding philosophy.

A scared kid may get more comfort from a chem light providing a 12 hour night light, rather than task lighting or signalling, which is probably what an adult would look for ?

(Reliability permitting)

Fenix E01 would last through the night with plenty to spare if the kid doesn't run down the battery beforehand. Kids LOVE lights and play with them any time given the chance.

Plenty of bright LED lights with multiple light levels out there. They will last very long at the lower settings - but for how long will a kid use a light at the lowest setting? My experience is about 3 seconds.


Chem lights ... Today, with LED lights I'd say that their only virtue would be that it is more straightforward to check if anyone has been playing with their "only in emergency" equipment. If the seal is unbroken everything is OK - a half depleted battery is somewhat harder to detect.

A plain, simple single level LED light with a seal on it... yes, that would be a great thing to put in a kid's kit. Of course you need plenty of them so they can play and practice. One for use and play, one for "emergency only".

I really like this idea. A soft green light or blue light is calming.

In some ways chem lights could be more reliable than a flashlight in a kid's kit. Kids like them and they're easy to use. They might not be as good for signalling but maybe better for comfort.

If only money and weight were no object.