Taking my son camping

[Bravery]

I plan on taking my son camping. He will be bringing one (maybe two) of his friends with him. One of the places we will be going is in the woods right on the Suwannee River. I know how kids can get and I don't want them to get bored so I was trying to think of some things that would be fun for them... here is a list of some of the things that I thought we might could do:

Fishing
Fire starting
Survival tips, like Poison plants and snakes, how to make Traps and Snares

I really could use some more ideas!!! Please throw the ideas out there.

 

[old_anorak]

Get a book on tracking animals and let them see how many critters they can identify.
Depending on how populated the area is... teach him to drive.
Teach him to set camp on his own. How to set up the tent by himself. If it's a space pimple then easy peasy, otherwise, he'll need to get creative.
If you're going fishing, teach him how to find his own bait, the best places to look and how to bring worms to the surface if he has to.
Just spend time talking about what if situations.

 

[Mastercajun]

I plan on taking my son camping. He will be bringing one (maybe two) of his friends with him. One of the places we will be going is in the woods right on the Suwannee River. I know how kids can get and I don't want them to get bored so I was trying to think of some things that would be fun for them... here is a list of some of the things that I thought we might could do:

Fishing
Fire starting
Survival tips, like Poison plants and snakes, how to make Traps and Snares

I really could use some more ideas!!! Please throw the ideas out there.

Maybe you could teach them how to make a shelter with what is in the woods. Are you going to teach them how to make a fire with a flint? I took my grandson on a survival camping trip and he loved it. We went about 5 to 6mi. into the swamp. I thought he would be scared but he wasn't. He had a hell of a time starting the fire with the flint. Now he knows how.

 

[RV-Kitty]

I plan on taking my son camping. He will be bringing one (maybe two) of his friends with him. One of the places we will be going is in the woods right on the Suwannee River. I know how kids can get and I don't want them to get bored so I was trying to think of some things that would be fun for them... here is a list of some of the things that I thought we might could do:

Fishing
Fire starting

You didn't say how old they are.

Survival tips, like Poison plants and snakes, how to make Traps and Snares

This time of year you probably wont see a lot of snakes or poison plants.
Snares and traps work in horrific ways, with the animal suffering horribly before it dies or you get there and kill it. And you're more apt to snare, cripple or kill someone's cat or dog than a rabbit. And if they snare a rabbit will you teach them how to bash it's head in as it screams in agony? Will they enjoy watching you skin and gut it? I don't think so. Normal boys would be disgusted by such a scene. Bring a 22 and teach them how to hunt and how to get a clean kill. There are pictures on the internet of snared and trapped animals that would break a cold blooded sociopathic sadist's heart.

I really could use some more ideas!!! Please throw the ideas out there.

You can spend some time setting up the tent and camp. Of course you will need firewood for a fire. That can take a few hours. Teach them to cook over an open fire. Show then (with their parent's permission) how to shoot a gun. Teach them how to react to bears. It's early in the season but you can hike and look for wild edibles. No matter what, not all kids are into camping. Even fewer are killing animals for something to do.

 

[Bravery]

You didn't say how old they are.



This time of year you probably wont see a lot of snakes or poison plants.
Snares and traps work in horrific ways, with the animal suffering horribly before it dies or you get there and kill it. And you're more apt to snare, cripple or kill someone's cat or dog than a rabbit. And if they snare a rabbit will you teach them how to bash it's head in as it screams in agony? Will they enjoy watching you skin and gut it? I don't think so. Normal boys would be disgusted by such a scene. Bring a 22 and teach them how to hunt and how to get a clean kill. There are pictures on the internet of snared and trapped animals that would break a cold blooded sociopathic sadist's heart.



You can spend some time setting up the tent and camp. Of course you will need firewood for a fire. That can take a few hours. Teach them to cook over an open fire. Show then (with their parent's permission) how to shoot a gun. Teach them how to react to bears. It's early in the season but you can hike and look for wild edibles. No matter what, not all kids are into camping. Even fewer are killing animals for something to do.

Good point about their age... that does matter. They are 13-15... mainly 13.

Well, depending on the weather... here in Florida it can easily jump into the 80s so the snakes can be out and about and I wish there weren't any Poison Ivy or Poison Oak but sadly it's growing. As far as catching someone's cat or dog, I wouldn't keep the snare up. Thanks for the input about a clean kill and a weapon... I will carry a BB gun, slingshot, and blow-dart (not a 22 because of one of the kids parents... I will have my handgun for safety reasons, not for their use). I would love to get a squirrel and skin it. I think it would be good training to understand what it takes to eat...and that food doesn't naturally come in a styrofoam tray wrapped in plastic. I am pretty certain they will enjoy the rite of passage by eating their kill... maybe even skinning it. I don't think I will make them eat the heart. I know one of the boys has been deer hunting many times with his dad.

I don't know much about edible plants so I don't want to venture into that area... might end up eating something wrong (I never am sure with the drawing and photos that are in the books... they look too much alike for me).

 

[RV-Kitty]

I too would be afraid to pick wild plants for food. So many plants look so alike. Mushrooms especially, and I love them. I taught my son to avoid all snakes since telling some of them apart can be hard and he wont be carrying a reptile book around with him. I also taught him never to kill a snake as they have their place in nature, poisonous or not. And to never kill anything he didn't intend to eat.

At age 13 I would think they'd be into setting up camp, gathering wood and making a fire, hiking, fishing, cooking weaners and mickies (potatoes) over the fire, telling "spookie" stories at night, hanging food where coons and bears can't reach it, cleaning up after dinner. Learning to leave a campsite as they found it. If it rains it's good to have a deck of cards and maybe a board game or two. My son and his friends loved Monopoly. The more they all cheated the more laughs and fun they had.

At age 15 he had his own friends he hung out with and no longer went places with family except on major holidays.

 

[Mastercajun]

I plan on taking my son camping. He will be bringing one (maybe two) of his friends with him. One of the places we will be going is in the woods right on the Suwannee River. I know how kids can get and I don't want them to get bored so I was trying to think of some things that would be fun for them... here is a list of some of the things that I thought we might could do:

Fishing
Fire starting
Survival tips, like Poison plants and snakes, how to make Traps and Snares

I really could use some more ideas!!! Please throw the ideas out there.

Bravery my brother, i've read the post here on taking your son camping. I will not add what I really think. At 13 he is growing to be a man. I don't think when TSHTF that he will be saying "hey dad lets go eat some weeds". Thats all I have to say on this. I will sent you a conversation message. I just don't agree with what some are telling you. Not you old-anorak.

 

[old_anorak]

When are you going camping? Too bad you aren't closer, your son could learn to build an igloo. We've got 8 inches on the ground now and a couple more coming.

I've been giving your trip some thought and been thinking about some of the things we do here.

How about teaching him how to fish for crawdads and then teach him how to get them ready to eat?
Navigating by the stars. You can do it on land as well as on the water.
Maybe how to read the weather by what's going on in nature? I don't know your area so I don't know the signs or the animals well enough to help you like could if you were here.

 

[Bravery]

When are you going camping? Too bad you aren't closer, your son could learn to build an igloo. We've got 8 inches on the ground now and a couple more coming.

I've been giving your trip some thought and been thinking about some of the things we do here.

How about teaching him how to fish for crawdads and then teach him how to get them ready to eat?
Navigating by the stars. You can do it on land as well as on the water.
Maybe how to read the weather by what's going on in nature? I don't know your area so I don't know the signs or the animals well enough to help you like could if you were here.

LOL... igloo ... snow! It was in the 80s today. There are some good ideas there... I really don't know how to read the stars... I know the thing about the North Star and how to find it but that's about it. I never have seen crawdads in the area... they probably are ... I will look. I want to get them to build a Dakota fire hole, build a lean-to, and stuff like that.

I really appreciate all the ideas. I'm still looking for more. I have to say that it's great to see him get so excited (he's 13 and "he doesn't get excited... it's not cool"). I hope it's not a let down for him.

 

[old_anorak]

Here's an idea. Let's swap kid's for a camping trip. Your's can learn to back country camp with horses and mine can learn how to handle whatever Florida has.

 

[Bravery]

Sounds like a plan! My son would love riding horses!!!

 

[old_anorak]

I'll make sure he stays safe and I'll even teach him how to drive them!