Tips for Hiking with Kids that Parents Should Know

This blog article was originally posted on my first blog In Our Pond.  I started out trying to put all my travel content on my homeschooling blog, but it grew to be too big.  So, I'm moving all the road trip stuff over here!  It'll probably take me a while to move all the posts, but I'll also be posting new content on here as well.  In Our Pond will now be exclusively for homeschooling and parenting content, while this blog (Party Through the USA) is for all the family travel posts.  Check them both out!

Hi, Everyone!  Today, I have a special treat for Travel Time Tuesday.  Eric from Life Under Sky has agreed to do a guest article for me!  Please visit his blog to read more camping, hiking, and backpacking tips!


One of the ideal ways to keep your kids connected with nature is to hike with them. However, it might be a problem for parents to plan how to do that effectively.

Let your kids commune with nature this season. It’s really important for future generations to have a deeper understanding of the value of the wildlife world and enjoy it. The following are some helpful tips for you.

Keep it easy and feature-friendly

When you first plan to hike with your kid, remember to avoid choosing a trail which requires great effort or is too long. You should bear in mind that it’s just the experience that your kids need to gain. Picking the one having some features, such as waterfall, stream or lake or something like that. They will draw your kids’ attention. Then give them the final destination. But the important thing is not that destination; it’s the journey itself.

If your kids appear to enjoy kneeing down to explore the nearby undergrowth, it would be a good sign showing their interest. And they will certainly do that again in the next time.

Take lots of breaks

You should take breaks often to rest as well as refuel. It might seem that your children appear not to get tired- they are always active. But don’t be fool. In fact, the children get tired quicker than you think. It is because of the fact that their legs are actually small. So our one step is as long as three or maybe four steps of children.

Stop and rest at any time possible. You can tell your children where is the next ‘break stop’ by marking with any signals on the trail, such as unique trees or a bridge.

Start your hike with kids early in the morning

Morning is the time when people tend to get more energy. Besides, whether you live in a location which is hot all the day or the one having thunderstorms in the afternoon, you’ll surely want to avoid them all.

In addition, in the morning, your kids are more active so they will not demand you to carry them. In the later time of the day, they will easily get cranky.

Make it fun

The main thing to have a successful hiking is not only keeping your kids continuously motivated, but also making the journey fun. Think about any game which can be played during the hiking, such as counting nearby wild animal like birds or butterflies or wildflower species. Organizing a small hunt and have them looked for things which are small, big, smelly, bumpy, wet or anything you can think about. It’s easy and fun.

In case your children have the age of over 8, it would be the right time to teach them how to use a gun. But remember to supervise them carefully. It’s a good way to help your children clearly know how powerful these firearms are. Then they will see what the gun really is and give more respect for it.

Air rifle would be the suitable gun for your children to have a go because its price is affordable and doesn’t have much recoil; therefore, it’s far safer.

Hike often

Creating a habit of frequently going hiking in your family, maybe one time or more times a month. Children usually seem to enjoy exploring new things as well as interesting adventures. There’s a wide variety of terrain, sights, and trails for you to choose.

If your kids have stayed indoor during the week, the great way to keep them connected to the nature is to hike in the weekend. Wideness area or urban park trail would be ideal sites.

Watch your children signs

Notice when your kids get tired.

One of the easiest ways to know is looking at your children’s eyes. It likes my situation. I can know the feeling of my kids whenever looking at their eyes. At times, I usually suggest having a rest or turning around.

The tired feeling can either make the kids difficult to control or easily get accidents. In that case, you should cut off lots of walks even if you haven’t reached the goal.

Practice safety

Make sure to tell your kids the trail safety as well as hiking rules before any hiking. Some of the most important rules are:

·         Always follow the trail

·         Avoid throwing rocks or something like that

·         Don’t run

·         Stay within the adults’ eyesight, arm’s length or earshot during the hiking. It is extremely crucial to tell this rule to pre-teens because they usually intend to get ahead uncontrollably.

You should also teach your kids about the etiquette of trail to get them safer
.