Youth on the Trail: Tips and Tricks
- Ask if they
want to go on an “adventure” not a
“hike.”
- Take breaks based
on kids’ needs and wants, not yours.
- Carry an arsenal of distractions:
lots of games, lots of enticing snacks.
- Have a destination at hike’s end.
Water locations (lakes, rivers, waterfalls)
are particularly good, especially if the
kids can play in them.
- Children up
to age 3 tend to “wander” not “hike.”
- 3-year-olds may be able to hike up to
a mile on easy, flat terrain.
- At age 4,
longer hikes may become possible, with
distance increasing from 1 mile to several
miles over the next few years.
(Photograph by Paty Cullen Wingrove/Fotolia.com.)
Labels: Hiking, Kids