A Dozen Survival Skills Your Kids Need to Know

No matter how young your children are, it’s not too soon to make sure they’re prepared.

This post is part two in a two-part series. You can read part one here.

Protecting your children from danger is a survival instinct in itself, but your protection alone may not be enough if the worst should happen. It’s difficult to think about, but if a natural or unnatural disaster strikes and society collapses, you may not be in a position to save them. In fact, they may need to save your life, or you might not be there at all. So it’s worth taking the time now to make sure your children have basic survival skills.

Children learn by doing, and they learn by example. Even if you live in an urban area, you can take your kids into the woods on camping trips or even just day trips to teach them about nature. When you are stockpiling supplies, or building a shed, or even gutting a fish, let your children observe you and explain step-by-step how and why. Kids look up to their parents, so you’ll want to set an example of what true self-sufficiency looks like.

 

12 Survival Skills to Teach Your Kids TODAY

Your children need to master the following skills now, before it’s too late.

• Safe drinking water – No matter how well-prepared your children are, they won’t make it far without safe, clean drinking water. It’s imperative that your children understand how to find water, identify if it’s safe, and how to filter and boil it to make it safe.
• Understanding plants – After the SHTF, there won’t be a grocery store, so your children will need to learn how to find and grow their own food. Even young children can begin learning how to grow from seeds, how to identify edible plants, and which plants have medicinal properties.
• Weapons-making and self-defense – Teach your children how to make weapons such as knives and bows and arrows and how to use them. They should understand how to defend themselves with and without a weapon, so make sure you work with them to teach them basic self-defense techniques.
• Firearms safety – Your older children should understand the ins and outs of firearms safety, including how to load, assemble, disassemble, and clean a weapon. Most firing ranges allow children and offer training courses, which are worth looking into.
• Hunting wild game – Your kids need to know how to hunt with a slingshot, how to hunt with a bow and arrow, how to operate a firearm, how to hunt small and large game, and how to prepare game.
• Fishing – Teach your children the basics of fishing, such as how to make a fishing rod, how and where to catch fish, and how to clean and prepare fish. They should also be able to identify which fish are edible.
• Food safety – Your children should know how to tell if food has spoiled or is otherwise unsafe to eat, and they should understand basic hygienic food prep techniques. They should also be shown how to open a can of food even if they don’t have a can opener.
• Building shelter – Your children should understand how to stay dry, how to find shelter or build it, and how to stay concealed in the wild. You can make this into a fun game where you challenge them to stay hidden from you in the outdoors.
• Fire safety – Be sure your child knows how to make a fire, even without matches, and how they can cook on an open fire. This involves going over fire safety essentials and making sure they understand the responsibility that goes along with building fires safely.
• How to barter – Not only should your kids know how to trade, they should understand what kinds of items and skills can be traded. You can let them practice by selling old toys they no longer want at a garage sale.
• Finding their way – If your kids don’t know how to use a compass, read a map, and how to find their way using the stars, it’s time to teach them. It’s also a good idea to make sure your kids pay attention to where you’re going so they’ll know how to reach landmarks and people.
• Hygiene and first aid – There’s a lot that can go wrong if you don’t stay clean and dry. Teach your children basic health and hygiene and first aid. It is the key to being healthy and staying that way, and it could save their life or someone else’s.
• Being part of a group – In modern society, far too many kids are whiners who melt down every time they’re asked to do something. This won’t work after TEOTWAWKI, so the time to nip this bad habit in the bud is NOW.

 

Survival Training for Kids Part 3- Water Procurement

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9jxQO7TU14

 

Survival Training for Kids Part 4- Firecraft