[5Runner]

Any of you with elementary age kids? Or three? I've been wrestling with how to introduce BOB's to my kids. They are used to the concept of packing and preparing, as we frequently take camping trips to the mountains in our off-road vehicle (our BOV, if you will). We pack very lightly for having three young kids.

I am approaching them more as "personal bags" or something more positive in nature. Please help coin a name! "Adventure Bags"? I want the kids to consider their bags not for "bugging out", implying that you have to run from some evil (hopefully not). Kids don't need to live with that fear in mind...if possible... Rather, I want them to look at them as bags that have the stuff they need for adventures in life. By tying the bags into our vacations (camping, hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, etc) the kids will get comfortable with their bag as theirs and look at them in a positive light. If they don't take ownership of them, I am going to kill myself trying to manage them for them. This is my plan...

I'd like to see discussion about the BOB subject, but from a family and child perspective.

Thanks.

 

[AsteroidX]

My kids 10. I pack my BOB first with stuff for both of us then Ive added some "extra" stuff we could live without into a BoB for him. Im also going to add HIS sleeping bag as the only thing he must carry. at that age most importantly I want him to keep up then carry. What I did do was make sure he had large (kids grow) extra warm clothes and that his pack is fit and ready to put on in a moments notice. On this level it was fun for him.

I will have to admit having a child and family near was a big factor in my Bug Out plan and when I would choose to Bug Out to my BOL. So I will do everything possible to stay in place until the craziness dies down then decide if BoL is needed. I can Bug Out to the woods near me for a few days if needed and will be working on getting a store and gear stashed in an undisclosed place of the beaten path hopefully.

I called it a Bug out Bag when we were prepping it and he didnt care he understood it was an emergency GTFO bag and not a toy. After Sandy Hook most kids have a good concept that there are times when they need to MOVE FAST. I found by asking him if he any questions that we had a very sadly adult converstaion about school shootings and what he should do if something happened.

 

[Verteidiger]

Any of you with elementary age kids? Or three? I am a new, moderate prepper, more focused on basic prep (home fire/flood) at this time than SHTF, WORL times. I am trying to be somewhat careful with how I approach BOB's with the kids, and sort of even the wife. We do a lot of camping and mountain trips in our modified vehicle, so we are used to prep for those trips. We have all appreciated the "emergency clothes bag" that we keep stashed in the rig. So...now I'm thinking BOB's and how to do this with kids... I have turned their hiking "day packs" into BOB's...but before I approach them on the subject...

I am approaching them more as "personal bags" or something more positive in nature. Please help coin a name! I want the kids to consider their bags not for "bugging out", implying that you have to run from some evil. Kids don't need to live with that fear in mind...if possible... Rather, I want them to look at them as bags that have the stuff they need for adventures in life. By tying the bags into our vacations (camping, hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, etc) the kids will get comfortable with their bag as theirs and look at them in a positive light. If they don't take ownership of them, I am going to kill myself trying to manage them for them.

I'd like to see discussion about the BOB subject, but from a family and child perspective.

Thanks.

I would call the children's bags "your goodies bag" - that implies it is a place to put all your goodies you get to take with you when you are going outside of the house, or outdoors on a fun trip.

I would focus on the safety essentials for their bags -- sunscreen, jacket, blanket, a toy to play with (happy, happy), blanket, hat, extra (hiking) shoes and socks, favorite candy (for fun), snack/energy bars, bottled water, toothbrush/comb or brush/toothpaste, gloves, flashlight, bandaids, hand cleaner and wet wipes, towel, change of clothes, light jacket or windbreaker/hoodie, their own chemlight/glowstick (they will think they are cool, and you gotta start somewhere plus these are good for finding them after dark in a strange place), pen knife if old enough, etc.

For the wife, pay attention to feminine needs -- if you show you care enough to take her comfort and safety into account, she is much more likely to be receptive. Buy her some comfortable clothing (her own cap/hat/watch cap, hiking boots, fleece vest, camping clothing, etc.) and buy her a real nice flashlight "just for her." Ask her to buy her own toiletries for her "goodies bag" so she can get her own "goodies"; and get her involved in the energy bars/trail mix ideas. Lemon-flavored bottled water for her - my wife loves that. Gloves for her, along with her own change of clothes, etc. You might get her a Swiss Army knife all her own -- my wife carries hers every day. And pepper spray -- in case she does not like guns (and runs into a mean dog or meaner bear).

Then you get the extreme gear for the survival stuff ("Big Daddy Bag"), and your own goodies bag. And stick a handgun, flashlight and a good knife in there first.

Have fun with it. The chances are you will not have to use them, but get everyone used to having a goodies bag of their own, for their own safety and security.

 

[LunaticFringeInc]

Your already taking them camping so why not just call them "Adventure Bags" or "Get-A-Way Bags". Pack it with their clothes and sleeping gear and then add a few little things like a small First aid kit that holds additional stuff to compliment the main kit in your bag. Maybe even pack a few snacks in it for them to snack on when you go camping (replenish it when you return). Leave them pre-packed so you dont have to gather things up and then you wont "forget" anything they need either. To re-enforce the concept get them involved in scouting so that its "fun" not neccesarily doom and gloom. This gives them an opertunity to help you out, carry some of their own gear and be a little more independent minded which will serve them well, in the future as they become older and eventually leave the nest and go out into the world on their own.

 

[Gman303]

Your already taking them camping so why not just call them "Adventure Bags"

I agree! make it with them and make it fun! I've had one made for my daughter for almost a year now but she doesn't know about it, I'm waiting for her to get a little older before introducing her to the idea.

 

[wesley762]

I have always enjoyed the whole Zombie thing before it really was a fad for it's entertainment value ( I am well aware Zombies are not real). My Daughter that is 11 gets a kick out of the whole Zombie thing so she decided on her own that she wanted a Zombie bag. I thought it was the perfect thing (Yes we talk about zombies not being real all the time) to get her excited about it. Every time we are out shopping she finds things that would go good in the bag. This weekend we where out at Home Depot and at the register there was this little mini first aid Kit and and she wanted it for her bag. I did get her for Christmas one of the USMC assult bags because she told me it had to be Camo. Could have not been a Happier Dad when she asked for that.

As for the Wife, I just told her that we need to go camping more, and being the accessory junky She is we are creating a "Camping Bag" for her.

We as a family have talking about being preppared lately and it has really gone well with the Wife and Kid. My daughter looks at it as fun which is really easy to get her help with that and my Wifes Dad was a prepper so it has been a pretty natural move for her.

Best suggestion I can make is sit down with your family and talk about it, why you are doing it and what you want to acomplish with it.

 

[yzingerr]

I have a 3 year old and two near one year olds.
Right now the 3 year old has his "camping" bag. He loves to camp and fish with daddy and gets excited when I use "trigger" words.

 

[VFMA1995]

I'm grappling with the same thing. I have 6 young children. Looking to take this to more than something Daddy does for the family.

 

[a father]

I too am struggling with ideas for my kids bag. She is almost 2 so of course I would have to carry her bag. However, regardless the age I would feel better suited having her bag ready in a GTFO situation. Also I'm not to sure what to put in my wife's bag. I was thinking of duplicating my bag (which is still in progress) and just adding some of her "goodies" as the one user stated.

 

[pheniox17]

My 6yo has a bag named the bear grills bag (yes he is a fan)

 

[jc31]

While I am new to prepping as I am figuring out where to start this has been a big concern of mine. I have 5 and 6 year old girls, the youngest of which is autistic so that is an added consideration. My intention as I am preparing bags for my family is to leave the two little ones out of the idea at this time. I plan on including almost all of their necessities in either my bag or my wife's. My 6 year old is responsible and mature enough that I would have her take a light pack with some comforts and extras that would help with them. Overall though as someone else pointed out, if we were on foot my main concern would be that the two little ones kept up and were able to cover some ground.

 

[thepeartree]

You've got some work left to do, I see. To all of gou I say two things:

WATER! You need hydration every day, especially little kid bodies that don't have adult reserves. And get a couple Life Straws so you can survive past the end of your bottled stuff. Plus a Sawyer filter or something that will last a long time. The immediate aspects of the Safari Bags will be covered and you can start working on how to keep the family ok in the long term. Don't know all the kids' ages involved, but books would be a good plus. Especially since they can have a group read or swap them around. Also, if you know where you're bugging out to and your route, you may want to establish a cache nearby. Don't use the Rubbermaid idea, they aren't air or water-tight. Maybe a big heavy-plastic toolbox with padlocks. Those may not be o-ringed, so get hold of some latex surgical gloves, fold them over several times and close the lid over the gloves. They should make a pretty good seal. Stash heavy stuff like batteries and some ammo in it,too.

Then, radios. Walkie-talkies. There are no kids in the world who don't love yakking away over a 2-way. On the trip they're for keeping people from getting lost and they're going to be useful always.