some nice tips for parents/ kids edc

Posted by: TeacherRO

some nice tips for parents/ kids edc - 04/10/13 12:13 AM

Teaching your kids about every day carry
Posted by: bacpacjac

Re: some nice tips for parents/ kids edc - 04/10/13 02:10 AM

We started by giving our son a whistle on a lanyard and little backpack (Eureka Joe Dawg) when he was about two and a half. He was just little so only carried his Teddy and a little flashlight in it. As long as he could walk on hikes on his own two feet (i.e. not in the stroller) we started teaching him stop-drop-and-roll and hug-a-tree.

When he got a bit bigger, maybe threeish, we added his jacket and a juice box or water bottle, and a little snack. All small and lightweight. (I.e. jr juice box, one pack of dunkaroos or mini oreos - good food means happier memories ad more enthusiasm the next time.) We tired to keep his load light and often carried his stuff for him when he didn't want to or was too tired, and it's well we did. We didn't the downside infringe upon all the good and, as he gets older, he seems to love being outdoors more, and in equal proportion to his ability to be more independent in it.

It's important to my husband and I that our kids learn how to handle themselves in the outdoors if they're going to be playing in it. A solid edc will cover urban events as well as ones off the pavement. As the kids get older they can get more specific and specialized, with things like keys, money, fire, knife, etc.

Our son wants to do a weekend overnighter in the back forty behind my cousins house this summer - no adults allowed except his big sister - and we're going to let him.(All the parents are in on the planning for this three kid excursion - my cub scout son who will be 10, my 14 year old air cadet nephew and my 24 year old step-daughter.). It's still a few months away but he's already asked if, when it's over, could he do a week long survival trip. Hmmmm.
Posted by: MoBOB

Re: some nice tips for parents/ kids edc - 04/10/13 03:17 AM

The link on the page to the "I.C.E. System" is interesting. Is that something that is common in responder world - looking for ICE on the phone? Also, it does no good if the phone is password protected.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: some nice tips for parents/ kids edc - 04/10/13 03:25 AM

My old spotter now raises skunks and a former team mates granddaughter. Her Iphone is lowjacked, and there's a debit card in the case, she has a watch on her wrist which can't be removed short of a jeweler or bolt cutters, it can summon help and he can track her through it. She carries cash has a huge timber shepard which go's everywhere with her, and still he worries. At six she's had rudimentary training but is limited in what she can carry for self defense and emergencies. Her support team is the spotter, an LAPD Detective, former Navy SEAL and an ex con who makes me look like a wimp.
Once on CSI they found a corpse of a kid with a flashlight, SAK, compass, lighter, cell and reation bars in his pockets. I think he had a multi tool also. That was one properly equipped kid.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: some nice tips for parents/ kids edc - 04/10/13 03:27 AM

I had a lighter and pocket knife as my edc as a child, izzy. I think that my be where I got the survival bug.
Posted by: spuds

Re: some nice tips for parents/ kids edc - 04/10/13 12:39 PM

Originally Posted By: Snake_Doctor
I had a lighter and pocket knife as my edc as a child, izzy.
Me too,we did a lot of backyard camping too,great fun! Living in Oregon it amazed me how much rain was blocked by trees.
Posted by: paramedicpete

Re: some nice tips for parents/ kids edc - 04/10/13 05:42 PM

An older thread on I.C.E.:

I.C.E.

Pete
Posted by: MoBOB

Re: some nice tips for parents/ kids edc - 04/10/13 09:01 PM

Pete, You opinion on the subject is pretty much what I thought about the subject in general. Thanks for the link.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: some nice tips for parents/ kids edc - 04/10/13 09:29 PM

Hey spuds. Oregon is beautiful. Wish I had a home there. Simpler times back when we were kids.
Posted by: bws48

Re: some nice tips for parents/ kids edc - 04/10/13 11:27 PM

Interesting article, and the posts seem to indicate that we (the preppers) had similar, ummmh, tolerant parents. Not like some I see in my neighborhood.

FYI, there is a phrase "Free Range Kids" that some parents use to advocate a more relaxed form of supervision of kids. It apparently started with a NYC Mom (Lenore Skenazy) who wrote an article about why she let her (9 year old) son (Izzy) take the NYC subway to school by himself. The reactions, as you can guess, were to say the least, mixed.

She maintains a website;
http://www.freerangekids.com/

No connection,etc., I just wonder if we are doing right by our kids. . .personally, I'm glad I grew up when I did (and survived). I think she may be on to something.
Posted by: spuds

Re: some nice tips for parents/ kids edc - 04/11/13 06:49 PM

Originally Posted By: Snake_Doctor
Hey spuds. Oregon is beautiful. Wish I had a home there. Simpler times back when we were kids.
Sure were,1940's my Mom and her sister,in early teens,were allowed to take bus to movies in Downtown CLEVELAND,unescorted at 11 PM at night!

I lived just outside Portland,Or in my pre/early teens.House had a forest behind it,yet bus service right into downtown Portland,every 15 minutes! We took bus to shop because it was so convenient,crazy huh?

LOL.Bus is my worst case survival transportation now,world has changed for sure.
Posted by: bacpacjac

Re: some nice tips for parents/ kids edc - 04/11/13 07:03 PM

Originally Posted By: spuds
Originally Posted By: Snake_Doctor
I had a lighter and pocket knife as my edc as a child, izzy.
Me too,we did a lot of backyard camping too,great fun!


Me too. I just stuffed them in my pockets. Upgraded to an Altoids tin kit when I hit double digits, and started carrying an edc backpack in high school. One set of Grandparents had a farm that was bordered by a creek and a forest, and the other lived on the river way outside of town. We had the freedom to explore and the imagination to have a blast adventuring. I still remember the day when I was finally allowed to take the boat out own my own for the first time. Of course, I also remember the day I fell through the ice on that creek in the middle of winter. That was freedom baby! I never did solo over-nighters out of site of the back porch until my late twenties though. frown