5 Ways to Teach Your Kids Survival Skills!

5 Ways to Teach Your Kids Survival Skills

With everything that is going on in the world today, and the fact that many children are addicted to technology, these 5 ways to teach your kids survival skills can really help to make a difference in their lives. From identifying plants to building a shelter, to learning what kinds of food to pack, it can be vital to ensure that your children learn how to take care of themselves if the need should arise.

1. Teach Children How to Grow Their Own Food

Many children don’t understand what it takes to grow their own food – they know that the food is available from the supermarket, or that it is prepared for them already, but how many kids these days actually know how to grow their own food? Growing food is an important skill that is incredibly important, and in case of an emergency, can save lives.

Research what kind of plants will grow best in your area, whether it be corn, beans, or watermelon. Take your children to the grocery or hardware store and allow them to pick out a few seed packets, or plant from seeds that you already have. Teach your child how to properly prepare the land for planting, and show them how to plant and tend to their garden.

Many children might find this activity boring or uneventful, but once they are familiar with planting their own food, growing the crops, and then harvesting, they will have learned a survival skill that can really make a difference. It also gives kids a chance to bond with family members, especially if this is made to be a family activity.
If you are teaching your children about firearms, remember to teach them about firearm safety and how to properly clean your firearm. Remember to teach younger children never to touch firearms, and for teens, make sure they understand how dangerous they can be if mishandled.

2. Teach Children How to Build Shelters

There are plenty of books and videos about building your own shelter available online, and you can start by watching some. While a tent is something that would be ideal, and if you can find a small backpacking tent to keep with you in case of emergencies, that would be great. However, sometimes a tent is unavailable, and you need to find a way to create your own shelter.

There are plenty of different ways to build a shelter, including using logs and sticks, or even creating your own type of clay out of mud.

Teach your children both of these methods, in case of an emergency and you find yourselves without a tent or other shelter option. It will allow them to stay dry and warm in case of a cold winter or rain, and can make the difference in a situation when you cannot get to your home.

3. Teach Children How to Pack a Survival Bag

Packing a survival gear bag might seem like common sense, but you would be surprised about the different types of gear that you might find yourself needing. Canteens, seeds, clothing, fire-starting materials, medications, food, and water are all great things to have in your survival gear bag.

Depending on you and your child’s individual needs or climates, you might want to pack extra clothing for both warm and cool weather, any kinds of important things you might need (such as an extra pair of eyeglasses), and plenty of first aid materials.
You never know when a survival bag might come in handy, so be sure to teach your child the proper way to pack one of these bags, and how to rotate the items in the bag for newer ones closer to the expiration date (such as medications). You can also add items such as emergency blankets, solar panel tents, and small folding camp stoves to the bag.

4. Teach Children About Nature

Teaching children to respect nature is important. Teach them about plants – some varieties are edible, while others are not. Teach them how to track animals, in case they would need to hunt. Teach them how to use a compass so that they can figure out which direction they are going. Make sure children understand how to protect themselves against wild animals.

5. Take Your Kids Camping

Taking your children camping is one of the best activities that you can do with them when you are trying to teach them survival skills. There are so many great things that you can teach them while outdoors, and it’s a great way to allow them to hone skills that they have already gotten down. You can teach them great ways to light a fire, cook over the fire, and even the best way to get a tent set up outdoors to keep bugs away. Camping not only allows bonding between family members, but it is the perfect way to put your survival skills to good use, especially if you go camping in an area that is not a designated campground.
Conclusion

There are plenty of ways to teach your children about survival and how to get them geared up and ready to face the world in case an emergency should strike. The above five ways cover a lot of ground and will allow you teach your children practical skills that can make a huge difference in their lives. Teaching kids, even younger kids, how to take care of themselves and learn skills that could potentially save their lives someday is important.

About the author:

Alex Ramsey – Work hard & live to hunt! Countryman Hunter, Archery, shooter, Freelance outdoor writer and loves the USA. Founder of Thebigdeer.com where he shares his hunting experiences with all. Alex’s site is all about guns, showcases real gear & real reviews to help you become more prepared. Knowledge will save you, but great gear will help! Let’s Get Out & Go Hunting