6 Simple Points for Comfort, Safety and Fun
Children and their parents often have completely different physical abilities and ideas of beauty, especially when it comes to tourism. We will tell you what you should take care of so that the child’s first hiking experience does not turn into an excruciating ordeal, but is associated with beauty, adventure and inner growth.
Gentle mode
Plan the first outing of the child, focusing on his capabilities, and even better make the route a little easier. New impressions, unusual food, sleeping in a tent and increased physical activity are already a lot. Let it be an easy walking route with one overnight stay and exploring the nature around the camp. This output will show you the child’s capabilities and limitations. Based on the experience gained, you will be able to think over longer and more difficult trips.
Joint training
A hike is your common cause with your child. Discuss where you’ll go, how you’ll spend your time, where to sleep, how to cook your meals when you get home.
Help the young traveler prepare his personal backpack, agree on how many toys he can take with him. If you can, try to convince him to stop at one. Try to explain that hikers have all their things in backpacks on their backs, and you should not take too much – it will be too hard.
Security
Forests, mountains, reservoirs are high-risk zones. Do not intimidate the child, but it is necessary to clearly pronounce the rules, and it is even better to draw them schematically. A child should not approach the water alone, move away from the camp, run forward along the path. But you can do all these interesting things together with an adult.
Just in case, discuss even the most sad scenario. If a young hiker gets lost, it is important for him to stay where he is and wait for the adults to find him. Respond to voices and sounds, send your own signals – whistle, shout, knock with a stick.
Take care of the child’s good visibility: buy a children’s safety vest with reflective stripes. In the backpack or pockets of a novice tourist there should be a whistle, a flashlight, an energy bar and a bottle of water.
Proportionate liability
A child is an important participant in the hike, he, like adults, walks along the route and carries a backpack, but still remains small. Make him feel involved in the overall process by rewarding him with a meaningful role. For example, appoint him as a campfire assistant, responsible for the morning meal or a snack carrier. Children love to help and are happy to carry out tasks in which they feel the respect of adults and their own value. Collecting branches for the fire, putting tent pegs in a bag, cutting bread – these are cool, important and accessible things for the child.
Clothing and amenities
Hiking is an activity during which clothes and shoes will inevitably get dirty, wet and torn. Accepting this as a given, you can feel an unprecedented sense of freedom and tranquility. The main thing is that the set of children’s clothes is well thought out: a change of shoes, a waterproof jacket and pants in case of rain, light clothes and a hat in the heat.
It is important to take care of a comfortable and warm overnight stay. Take seriously the choice of a sleeping bag and camping mat. It is not necessary to buy a children’s sleeping bag for the sake of one outing, you can fasten two adults: the child will sleep well next to you. But it is better to buy a separate liner in the sleeping bag: this way the bag will be protected from dirty children’s heels. The liner is easy to wash and dries quickly, while the sleeping bag deteriorates from washing – such a measure will keep it fresh and extend its service life.
A tourist mat, like a sleeping bag, helps not to freeze at night. The decisive factor is its thickness, because the cold comes from the ground. Choose an embossed foam or inflatable option or combine different ones. It is safest to sleep on such a mat at home on the floor before going hiking in order to assess the level of comfort in advance.
Sleeping in a tent is great, but it can be scary for a child. It’s worth considering a small light source for the night. The flashlight shines too brightly for sleep, but a small battery-powered garland will add mystery and magic to the tent house.
Fun and Meaningful
A hike is an interesting event. The joy of it will be even greater if you help the child process the impressions received and fill the journey with additional childish meanings. There are many options for this.
- Study the map of the area together and mark the route traveled on it. For younger children, this task will be difficult, but you can draw a map of the camp and the surrounding area together, mark the main points: a tent, a lake, a fire. Especially joyful will be the search for a “treasure”, which you can hide nearby in advance.
- Collect artifacts: flowers, stones and twigs. At the same time, study what plants and minerals surround you on the trip. You can collect from the found valuables or decorate the camp, but you need to be careful: there will be a temptation to take away all the stones you meet on the way. It is important to agree on the number and size. For example, agree to take only the three most beautiful stones. And about the fact that everyone carries their collection in their own backpack.
- Make a diary of the hike. In a simple notebook or album, you can write down the events of the day, the feelings and emotions of the child. Ask simple questions: what was the most difficult? What did you like the most? Offer to sketch the most vivid impressions. Leaves, twigs and a map will perfectly complement such a diary.
- An evening fire is joy and relaxation after the journey traveled. Do not worry if there is no bard in the team who is able to arrange a song evening with a guitar. Around the campfire, it’s good to read short stories, play and just exchange scary or interesting stories. Do not forget about the precious opportunity to toast bread or marshmallows on your own found stick. When your child grows up, this evening campfire will be an important childhood memory for him.
If you decide to go on the first hike with a child, but have not yet collected the necessary equipment, look at the online catalog or in Sportmaster stores. There you will find equipment for a tourist of any age.
