Written by: Tarah Mills
As a parent, you want to do everything you can to keep your family safe, and one of the things you can do is teach your kids some skills. The following are four fun activities that will allow you to teach your kids some great survival skills.
1. River Tubing
A good addition to your list of family activities is river tubing. If you happen to be near the southernmost counties of California, you can find river tubing in Southern California. This is an exciting activity that your kids are probably going to love.
It may seem like you are giving your kids a chance to have fun, but this activity forces you to learn how to swim. Your kids will be hungry to learn so that they can safely do some river tubing. Knowing how to swim and hold your breath underwater could save your kids’ lives someday.
No parent wants to think about the dangers out there, but drownings happen around the nation all the time. You want to give your kids all the tools they need to stay safe while swimming in a pool or maybe in a river. Although, you’ll probably want to teach them about the dangers of swimming when the winds are strong.
2. Camping
Another important family activity you can consider is camping. You can do this at state or national parks. You’ll have more freedom if you do this on your own land or a friend or family member’s land. You can teach your family all sorts of survival skills with this activity. For example, you can teach them how to build a shelter from natural materials you find.
You can also teach your kids how to make fire from nothing. Depending on your diet, you can teach your kids to hunt and cook meat or forage for edibles. Of course, it’s a good idea to bring along some food, just in case you can’t find anything to eat.
If you don’t want to hunt all that much, maybe you can teach your kids to fish. The likelihood of your kids needing any of this knowledge is slim, but the key is to teach them. There’s no telling what the future holds, and you can rest easy knowing that you did your part.
3. Gardening
Gardening is a great skill to pass down to your family. Most people don’t imagine gardening being an essential skill, but it can be. You’ll be teaching your family how to grow food. Find out what kinds of plants grow in your region, and teach them how to grow those items.
It may take some time, but you’ll be teaching them to be self-sufficient. This could not only provide food when there’s scarcity but could also end up saving your kids money when they grow up. Be sure to take the space in your home into consideration when planning this big family activity.
If you are going to be eating these foods, do your best to choose organic seeds and avoid toxic pesticides. Chemicals put your crops in danger, and that’s something your kids should learn. If you produce too much, maybe you can give some away, which will show your family how to share with others.
4. Survival Class
Okay, this last one may not be super fun, but hopefully, you can get your family to understand why it’s important to take a class like this where you’ll learn some general health care.
All of your kids should know how to give each other CPR. You should make sure their classes include lessons in dressing up a wound without forgetting to disinfect.
These types of classes teach children how to deal with poisons if they are ever exposed to them and how to look for help if they ever need it. There is no need to make this scary for them; you just have to tell them these are skills that’ll give everyone a little peace of mind.
Hopefully, you can get your family to go along with these activities. Give your kids time to get used to things, and be patient with them as you try to teach them these survival skills. You might be surprised at how much they can learn.