Description
This article is from the Outdoor
Activities for Young Children FAQ, by Gloria Logan
glogan@atk.com with numerous contributions by others.
61 TIPS ON GENERAL PLANING FOR KIDS:
>One important thing is to take your child's personality into account
>when planing a camping trip (or other outdoor activity). My daughter
>want PEOPLE INTERACTION. She loved coloring, but if I put a coloring
>book in front of her she is bored after 5 minutes, unless I color with
>her. Taking this into account, I have chosen trips that involve OTHER
>KIDS.
>
Karla is so right here. Those of you who haven't read my "Canoe
Camping With Kids" essay may think it's me, my husband, and Beth
on our wilderness trips. Not so! We've been going with the same family
for over ten years. This year, for the first time, the kids will
outnumber the adults -- scary!
There are lots of reasons to bring extra adults and kids along.
Company and interaction are important. But also: what if you
got badly hurt? With only one adult -- big trouble. Even with
two, does the kid stay with the hurt one, or slow down the
healthy one who's going for help? With four, two can go for help
and there is still one left to watch all the kids and the hurt one.
In practice, no-one has ever been hurt and the extra adults are
for playing cards with, but still, I'm not sure how I'd feel
these days about going into the wilderness with only two adults.
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From: kperdue@hpsmtc1.cup.hp.com (Karla Perdue)
> Four months ago I became the mother of a 7-year old (adoption) who
> is ***very*** active. Would you be kind enough to send me a copy of
> your outdoor activities FAQ list? I am tired and my brain is
> starting to turn to mush for good ideas.
Here is the information that you requested. I wish you luck. It IS
very draining to constantly thinking about activities for a young
child, both planning and supervising them. Unfortunately, I am not
sure how much the information below will help releave the pressure. It
mostly involves activities such as skiing, hiking, camping, and
backpacking which all require a lot of effort to plan and implement.
I just went, for the second time, on the Yosemite Association's Family
Backpack for Families with Young Children. It was a well-planned trip
from the logistics point-of-view (the organization took care of that).
However, it was still very draining to plan food and clothing and to
then DO all the work during the trip. A 5 yo is not yet very helpful
with cooking, tent set-up, etc. My daughter loved it and it was
surprising how much walking she was willing to do; the other kids were
going and she did not want to be left behind and the leader was a man
who is wonderfully patient and inventive with the kids (he could spend
hours engaging them in games and stories). I found that the LEAST of
my worries was carrying a pack for two.
I have begun to realize that one way to survive is to identify a set of
activities that are good (going to the park or beach or zoo, going
skiing, going on a hike). Then think about each one and WRITE DOWN
LISTS OF EXACTLY WHAT IS REQUIRED. I spend too much time re-planning
each time. One of my immediate tasks is to write down a full planning
scenareo for the backpack trip. Then next year, it will not be so
time-consuming. More importantly I won't find that I forgot things
(like a flashlight! - luckily it was clear with star and moon light, so
the oversight was not fatal). Of course, just putting everything
together (and getting the house set for our absense) is a lot of work.
It really DOES make a difference having a spouse who is also involved.
They can take on half the burden. There was a big difference between
this backpack trip and the one two years ago, when all three of us
went. Having a second pair of hands to light the stove or fold the
tent really helps. One of the reasons I am now divorced is that my
ex-husband would NOT get involved enough, leaving the whole burden on
me. (He actually has gotten a lot more involved after the divorce. He
is forced to take responsibility for activities when our daughter was
with him and he has made the effort.)
One way to do things is to identify activities with GROUPS; this helps
relieve the burden. Either choose a sponsored activity (where you pay
to participate, like the backpacking trip - then the sponsors take on
some of the burden) or join with friends. The kids will paly together
and relieve some of the pressure on the parents. Some good ones:
camping with other families (so there are several kids of similar age),
skiing where you put the child into a ski school for the day and get to
go ski for yourself (or just lounge in the lodge!), activities with
organizations such as Sierra Club or Girl Scouts (?? maybe Bluebirds
at that age). Find other parents with similar aged children that
trade off - you plan and implement an activity one weekend for ALL
children (depending on activity, that is not much worse than doing it
for one child), then they do the same next weekend for your daughter.
You only asked for the FAQ, but pushed a hot button of mine. I love
doing things with my daughter, but find it very demanding and tiring.
I do wish you luck in getting things set. We also adopted our
daughter, but as an infant, so we were able to grow into it slowly.
The demands are not easier, but I am probably more inured to the pain!
But the pleasure at watching her laugh and scramble around the rocks
with the other children makes the pain worth while.
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children, child, kid, Outdoor Activities, backpacking, ski, canoeing, biking, camping, trailer
