Guest post by LakeLili
Like all skills and behaviors, prepping should be taught from an early age. Getting your child involved in the process will ensure that your child is comfortable with the future. The more you include your child in the process, the more comfortable with the concepts of prepping he will be and he will not be as frightened by the SHTF. For him, it becomes an adventure. The routines you establish now for your children should be routines that can be largely maintained later.
When the SHTF you are going to have a lot of work to do. Knowing that your child is well clothed, shod and occupied, frees you to do the work you need. If your kids are young, building a basic play yard can go a long way in ensuring that they are contained. As they get older, the chores you give them now should be ones that they continue even after the SHTF – washing dishes, weeding gardens, feeding chickens and collecting eggs.
In prepping for your kids needs there are a couple of things, in addition to food, that are essential.
THE CLOTHING BASICS:
Kids are more comfortable in familiar, worn-in clothes. This is not the place to show off a new wardrobe. Clothes that make your kid stand out may draw unwanted attention. When stocking the cedar closet, look at your kid and what he wears now. He is going to grow at a great rate and if he is carrying extra weight, will likely lose it after the SHTF – more activity, less TV and an almost immediate reduction in sugar and processed foods will take care of that – so the clothing collected needs to reflects that. In addition to picking for size, clothing needs to be picked for its durability.
Clothing Storage: A dedicated cedar closet at your bug-out location is ideal, but an old steamer trunk will serve as terrific storage. You will likely need a complete wardrobe for each size. While this can be expensive, each size packet of clothing can be assembled for under $20. Make good use of thrift stores and take advantage of “hand-me-downs”. Put all of the clothes together according to size and vacuum seal into a plastic storage bag, including a couple of cedar or mothballs. Vacuum sealing will allow you to put more size packets into the trunk. Make sure you label according to the child’s sex and size, i.e. “Boy – size 5”. Just as you rotate the food in your pantry, rotate the clothes packets – or save them for trade later…
For each size, each clothing packet should include:
3 pairs of denim jeans, 2 pairs of shorts, 2 thin wool sweaters, a sweatshirt or fleece, 4 T-shirts, 4 Long-sleeved T-shirts, 7 pairs of underwear, 7 pairs of socks – at least 2 pairs in wool, and 2 pairs of running shoes in addition to the pair your child wears every day. Shoes can be expensive, but again these can be acquired second hand and if they are worn-in then it is less likely that the shoes will cause blisters.
Storing outdoor weather gear is always more of a challenge, but it is equally important. So look to have on hand what is appropriate for your climate: hiking boots, rubber boots, rain coat, snow suit, hats/gloves/mitts/scarves, and snow boots. The need to include a swim suit and swimming shoes depends again on your local. If you are beside a lake and zebra muscles are an issue, then swimming shoes are a safety need.
OTHER BASIC NEEDS:
The other basic needs are the ones that keep away the prickles of boredom – nothing worse than trying to hoe a row and having the kids screaming with boredom or refusing to work. Outdoor toys like Frisbee, badminton, horseshoes, bikes, buckets and shovels, lawn darts, Mr. Turtle pool (multiple uses for this one!), and Sports Equipment – baseball, glove and bat; football; basketball and net; soccer ball; hockey sticks – all fill a need. Life after the SHTF should not be devoid of childhood for your kids.
Inside activities can include the basics of puzzles, cards and board games – great for evenings and life savers on rainy days. While Gameboys and video games may provide unsustainable fun in the long term, storing extra batteries so that they can be enjoyed as a treat might be the carrot that gets your child to pitch-in after the novelty has worn off. Movie night with a wide selection of DVDs and CDs can make for added evening or bad weather treat – generators can be used for fun too!
Crafts such as sewing and knitting have a practical purpose, but scrapbooks and photo albums with pictures of people and places that were part of the old life can be an important part of moving forward into the new life.
EDUCATIONAL NEEDS:
The SHTF will not eliminate the need for your children to be able to read and write. Many who prep already home school, but for those who do not decision on education need to be made. The first major decision is what program you want to follow and then have the curriculum on hand. The second is to pack a separate bookshelf with books on a wide variety of subjects, with a special emphasis on the type of life you will have after the SHTF – Boy Scout manuals, farming books for kids. .
In advance, enroll you kids in programs that promote the needs skills. Programs like 4-H or Future Farmers of America (FFA) get them used to handling livestock. Auto mechanics in high schools teach about small and large engine repair – generators need to be maintained. Send your kids to summer camp – get them used to camping and roughing it. Join a shooting club and have your kids taught properly. Let them go through the NRA children’s program. Run simulated drills of what it is like to bug-out or what it would be like if the SHTF – don’t use any power for a week. Life is a teachable moment.
Whatever your belief systems, your Faith should be the building block on which everything else is laid. It will guide your moral and social compass.
Teach your children to read a newspaper, to listen constructively to the news. Teach them to recognize the propaganda, spin and biases. Teach them to think logically. Teach them to use a camera and record what they see in a journal – give your child the means of recording what is happening around them and the tools to interpret it. Being able to review the changes that are frightening him will reduce the fear and the stress.
Have fun too! Crayons, color pencils, paint along with coloring books, paper, and scissors make for art projects. Teach them to draw and design on paper so that they know how to build.
Have lots of maps – local, provincial, national and international. Teach them orienteering – how to interpret what is on a topographical map to the world around them. To use a compass… To move through their landscape with comfort and familiarity.
Have musical instruments and sheet music on hand. Let each child play something different so that together the family can blend. It will strengthen the family unit to play together.
Education will become something different, but if you teach your children as if the S had already HTF, then you will be miles ahead by the time it becomes urgent.
Prepping our children should be amongst the biggest priorities and not an afterthought. What have you done to prepare your child?
M.D. adds: If you’re planning for children you might also like to read “Bugging out with children” for more information.
{ 16 comments }
As a Mother with young children, this is the most important post I’ve read on being prepared. Thank you!
Well done! Nice article LakeLili and agree that not only is it valuable, it is often overlooked – children should be seen and not heard, right?! Too many parents worry more about themselves than their kids.
What I like is that all activities, except the reading news suggestion, do not require “outside” influence. The child’s creativity is purely their own and in a safe environment – assuming the parent(s) isn’t a psycho nut job!
It is very important to have kids experience problem solving skills with games & art because it teaches seemingly endless paths for solutions.
We rarely allow our kids (17, 15 & 5) to play with computer games because IT creates the environment, confines/controls thoughts and outcome. We found that it was beginning to produce less patient kids with undesirable social skills – we want kids not drones. Computers in our household – which are plentiful, are used more as tools.
I suggest being mindful of how we all are teaching our kids how to read the news (paper/magazines, TV, Internet) because all is biased .. and with the virtually uncensored Internet influence – yikes!
We, as experienced adults, can have a very difficult time discerning truth with the news. We have developed a skill set, acquired over a long period of time using the “wait and see” or the “I won’t get burned again” methods. Unfortunately, it’s all trial and error nowadays.
Maybe reading the news TO them or minimally with them, then teach context rather than focusing on content and how to simply research validity . I think that may help develop critical thinking skills that becomes beneficial in later life.
This is a great post. My son is a fan of the video games and occasional cartoon but he would rather go outside and play.
We have a pretty good supply of cards and off-grid games, but for digital entertainment I bought USB gamepads for the laptop and downloaded emulators (Nintendo, Sega, Playstation, etc). The laptop can be charged off car batteries using the cigarette lighter adapter and doesn’t use much power. It also plays DVDs, we have our engineering software on it, and we have several gigabytes of preparedness reading material not counting the encyclopedia and Rosetta Stone for learning languages.
We also hold on to all the clothes that either become ragged or we grow out of. We do not yardsale ANYTHING, at least for the time being, we’re hoarders. If TSHTF we’ll have a lot of “time” on our hands, it’s probable that us or one of the neighbors will be having another kid. With a little modification, our adult clothes can be tailored to fit a teenager. We vacuum seal the clothes and throw them in the shed so they don’t take up space in the house.
As for education, we already homeschool but we try to include skills like you listed above so he has a practical education as well as formal.
Well done, as usual, PND. You and your wife are not hoarders, you are pack rats!! I am married to one … Lord help me!
Homeschooling is an excellent idea. We homeschooled our 2 oldest and they were far ahead of the pack in their age group – think about it … a one on one tutor for your child in every subject? Even the best private schools cannot even come close. Hopefully, your wife does the bulk of teaching because I worry for your child about your influence! Ha, ha.
Homeschooling did give us 2 independent, not follow the crowd, thinkers. A benefit I did not realize until they entered high school.
As far as the socialization for the child objections, I say look at today’s youth and tell me if you really want that kind of influence – I think not. My oldest 2 go to a small charter (public) high school and still work daily on unwinding some of the crappy exposure they receive.
Once again LakeLili, GREAT post!!!
PND,
I gave MD permission to give you my email address, I’d like to communicate with you directly without wasting his blog space.
tsbcontest@hotmail.com
Thanks for a great guest post! So much info that I read on different blogs is geared toward people that don’t have kids. Survival takes on a whole new perspective when you are not just prepping for yourself, but your kids, too. I am a strapping 33 year old, I can survive anything, but I worry about my children. I can’t think of anything worse than my 3 year old looking at me with a gaunt face saying “daddy, I’m hungry”, and we don’t have any food because I didn’t get around to it.
I am in a different situation than many, with very young children, ages 3 and 2. I can only hope that the S doesn’t HTF anytime soon, because they are far too young to be able to do anything on their own.
As for what I’m doing to “prep” them, I make it a point to get them involved in the gardening and I take them out in the woods and we make sure to examine every new bug that we come across; I don’t want them to just be afraid of everything that they see. I take every opportunity I can to teach them about life and death. For instance, you don’t just stomp on every bug or worm you see; life is something to be treasured.
But on the flip side, if a fish or bird dies, I make sure that they understand that sometimes, things die. I don’t want them to be traumatized when they see me butcher chickens when they get older or to think the world has ended when the family pet dies. I think that far too many parents try to shield their kids from this “ugly” side of life and act like it doesn’t exist. I think that it is better to expose them to it early, and let them get used to it.
Thanks for your kind words. I have to agree that the guant face is a fear… the “I’m hungry” seems to happen several times a day. I also buy peanut butter by the flat. You cannot store too much of it. The tin of chickpeas may explode before its eaten but the peanut butter will run out long before the kids will stop eating it…
With your little ones a thought might be to look for colouring books and turn them into work books – so one about farm animals or vegetables can be used to teach about food, tracing letters, counting, etc. Also lego blocks are great for teaching math.
Great post Lake Lili,
We used to give away clothes to charity for tax purposes, but since I have been in storage mode, nothing has left. I’ve told my wife, that even if she thinks she won’t wear something anymore, if it still fits, it stays. If that makes me a pack rat then @#*!, cause I’m to young to get old.
As for teaching my daughter, 11, for self reliance, we are taking a different camping trip this year. Instead of the traditional camping at state regulated grounds. We have decided to go to the state land where I usually deer hunt. Things we are going to do include; making a water catch, a few different ways to start fire, making a shelter, setting foot hold traps, and??? 00′ 2 b fun.
Hey lili, in Ontario there’s a group something simlar to the FFA – Junior Farmers. Most counties have a club. It’s more rural networking than education. Does a lot of community service work. Open to anyone 15 – 30
Thanks Dash! I’ll file that for future reference. What we need is a program for yournger kids that is farm related. 4-H doesn’t start until they are ten.
LakeLili, thank you for a much needed post, and one many forget, as some of us do not have small children. My children are 24, 21 and 15, but grandchildren are sure to come along, so the information is always contemporary.
In the US, cooperative extension programs administered through state universities, and paid for by the US Dept. of Agriculture, are useful for the programs provided for young people interested in agriculture, so I urge parents to get in touch with their cooperative extension agent, usually at the county level. County and local fairs also provide opportunities for young people to raise and show their livestock, and compete on a state level. Look into those opportunities as well. My kids showed cattle, sheep, hogs and rabbits for years, and they learned to raise and care for livestock.
Dang, you made me look the fool (my wife sez thats easy, lol). I’m the yahoo who earlier said your blog did not talk about prepping with family – GOOD JOB fixing that! :^)
I saw this and was grateful as I have just been working on the importance of security with my son lately. After a rash of robberies etc. I am teaching him the importance of keeping our family affairs to ourselves. For example when someone we do not know very well asks where do you live he is to respond to a vague area not telling exactly our pueblo here in Costa Rica. Yes it is critical to prep the children. This week we had a 6.3 earthquake luckily at sea but when the home rocked back and forth for minutes I realized we did not even head outside. So now I must teach him our emergency plan. It is not easy to explain what is happening in the world and why we must keep certain things secret etc. I want him to have faith that the world is a good place and at the same time know the reality of what we are facing………………………..Thanks for the reminder. He already knows farming etc. and is a great child I just need to follow up with your wonderful ideas here. Thanks everyone for great information………………
Thanks for the reminder Debora that TEOTWAWKI can be local and personal in nature too. My family is not in a tectonically active area but we are prepared for forest fires. Would love to know your emergancy plan if you care to share.
We do a fair amount of discussions about privacy in our family but my child is still young enough for it not to occur to him that our prepping is not how every family operates.
I would love to share. First after living here for almost 8 years I have grown accustomed to the small earth quakes etc. so I have gotten lax. Not good. I need to plan now. I told my son that we should of gone outside. Our home is on stilts and is on a mountain and is made of wood. The way it rocked back and forth like a ship was a first. I just moved away from an active volcano and had an emergency bag packed for us and the animals including kennels etc. by the door. I had gas masks etc. which I gladly gave away when I thought I was moving to the calm area here in the Osa Pennisula. I did not know this was the most active for earth quakes in Costa Rica. If I am correct I know that the wooden homes of poorer quality in Haiti held up better than the cement ones. I am not sure of being on the stilts for an earth quake. I must investigate this quickly. It seemed that the home was stable but I must consider the earthquake was centered in the Pacific by the Co Co Island area. I was only 30 minutes from the epi center so I feel like we held up well but had it been on land I feel it would be an entirely different story. I tell you it is always something. I used to be so on top of things. When I lived in Key West I had water and food stashed for hurricanes etc. and I have always had good security etc. I live among the local people in a small secluded area with good people but when the shit hits the fan and they get hungry then watch out. These people eat 4 times a day and they can not go without. Most of them are armed I just found out today as I had a security talk with a neighbor because robberies have increased due to the economy and lack of tourism. It has not gotten to the point yet where these people are suffering. Most have cows and chickens and there are wild pigs to hunt etc. and water is all around etc. I live here alone with my son so I need all the suggestions you can offer if you would be so kind. I need a plan and am hoping to put in a food garden within the next week. Everything grows well here so I have that going for me. As well as the fact that I have some income as in a military pension but with what is happening now I sometimes wonder if that will keep coming. It never gets cold here or too hot and we went a week without electric and did fine when we first moved in due to rewiring of the home. We do not use hot water much only in an electric wire attached to the shower that they call a suicide shower but really it is great. It heats up the water only when turned on etc. I wish we had the days back when I was growing up. I am 50 now with my 10 year old son. I came here to escape the what I saw to be a growing trend towards lack of freedoms. I do not want to scare you at all but I feel the states is going to hell in a hand basket. I study economics and do some trading for other people not for myself due to limited funds. Looks like the melt down according to the charts and my studies is 7 to 9 months out and I find myself so unprepared even with my knowledge. Kinda sad eh? Oh well I am going to get real busy and get it all together. I am considering arming myself currently. I want to stash food etc. and I try to keep batteries etc. but here the shelf life is short. Any suggestions are appreciated. My plan now on another big earthquake is to have my son come wherever I am and we will take our dog and get outside away from trees and the home and wait and see. I have a back porch area that is ground level where I am going to try to put my emergency supplies. I need to buy a tent for sure. The problem here is the snakes. And other dangerous creatures. Not afraid of most only the fer de lance snake. I did have some snake away I purchased from Australia online when I did a state side visit but my son used it up one day playing when I was away when we lived by the volcano. I can not even count how many emergency evacs I have had to do in my life. Guantanamo Cuba for the Haitian Cuban Crisis back in the 90′s and hurricanes in Key West and it gets so old. I am surrounded by jungle and luckily I have never seen a forest fire here. I believe because of the rain that comes but even in the dry season I have never seen one here. I feel that I should start having cash on hand, more gas in the car, and clothes packed and a tent on the back porch and of course animal food. I feel very unprepared from what I usually am……………………………….Help…………………….
Thanks Debora New to the site so not so good on here. My email is deboraedholm@gmail.com
Comments on this entry are closed.