Tips For Prepping With Kids
If you are a prepper with young children, you have a whole other layer of preps you are responsible for. Laying in supplies for your kids shouldn’t be a problem if you think it through.
Comfort food
In any kind of emergency kids will stay calmer and feel more secure if they can eat familiar comfort foods. This is food that they know and like. Don’t hope that they will love the freeze dried banana chips (mine don’t) and then find out they hate them. This will only add stress to an already stressful situation.
My family has learned to like many survival type foods. We have made a treat of certain foods that we store so the kids will look forward to them. My kids actually beg for fried spam. The cup of noodles type meals that you only add hot water to make great kid comfort foods.
Candy keeps forever, you can stock up after Halloween and have snacks to see you through anything.
Just remember to make sure your kids like what you store.
Games
This is kind of a no brainer. Keep on hand a couple decks of cards and games that you and your children like to play. We are trying to educational games for the kids so we and they learn something. This Christmas is a game on wildcrafting that teaches wild plants and what they are good for.
E-books
Basic e-readers keep getting cheaper, and most platforms have several thousand free titles to choose from. The one I just bought claims to deliver two months of reading on one charge.
An e-reader for each kid can keep them busy for hours at a time when you need them to stay calm and quite.
BOB’s
Each kid should have their own BOB. I filled our kids packs with a small first aid kit, flashlight, tarp, comfort food, pre-packed survival kit, and sundry other things.
An old school backpack works well if it isn’t too worn.
Weapons
Getting weapons for kids is a difficult thing. Each child is different and have different levels of responsibility. Firearms that are accessible to them are probably out of the question.
You might look into a cheap fiberglass bow and arrow set. A good slingshot also makes a good weapon for a kid. If you shoot .50 lead balls from a slingshot they are deadly.
Every kid is different, you need to spend time with each of them going over possible scenarios. Not to scare them but to get them used to thinking through possible situations before they happen.
Category: General, How To Guides
