Children aren’t used to planning ahead. While this is normal among kids, this can be a problem if you’re a dedicated prepper with children of your own.

It may be hard to think of, but you’re not always going to be around to take care of your children. How can you teach them survival skills before SHTF?  Start by teaching them that disasters and emergencies are serious events. They need to understand that when SHTF, things can be scary and difficult. But if they have the necessary survival skills, they can stay safe while waiting for rescue. (h/t to Survivopedia.com.)

The right prepping attitude and skills

As a prepper, you know that it’s crucial to keep secrets, such as the location of your survival cache or the very supplies in your own home. But children aren’t always good at keeping secrets, which can be a problem for a prepping family.

Instead of telling kids that you’re teaching them how to be a prepper or a survivalist, let them know that you are teaching them about a natural part of your life. This way, they won’t feel the urge to tell anyone about your prepping activities.

Keep this in mind as you teach your children two important aspects of prepping: attitude and skills.

The right attitude is a “winning attitude,” or thinking that you won’t give up no matter what. Even if you’re an adult or a child, with the right attitude you can survive.

Teach kids that it’s important to be tough even when put under pressure. They can practice this attitude even in normal situations, such as when doing their homework. If they can keep trying until they figure out a solution for a math problem, kids could also be determined enough to find solutions to various survival situations.

“Survival is the ultimate test of life” so you must keep trying. If you keep practicing, soon you’ll get things right the first time, no matter what task you’re doing.

It’s easier to teach children survival skills because these have more practical applications in life. Keep your kids’ interests in mind when teaching them these skills so they’ll pay attention to you. For example, if they love animals and pets you can teach them how to raise chickens.

You can also bring your kids along when attending to daily tasks around your home. Always tell them how you’re doing certain tasks and why you’re doing them. As your kids get older, gradually give them more responsibilities until they learn how to do them on their own.

To teach kids survival skills, you will need to create the right opportunities. Some skills will naturally seem interesting to children, like how to use a bow or how to fish. If you think any of your skills can help your children in the long run, don’t hesitate to teach them.

You can also teach kids various survival skills by taking them camping. A lot of bushcraft skills, like building a shelter, building traps, or tracking animals, can be done when you’re camping. But before you take them camping, remember two things. First, all electronics must be banned so they can pay attention. Second, you must teach them without being too obvious.

Even a walk in the woods can turn into a fun lesson if you point out some plants or berries that they can forage. (Related: Fun bushcraft projects to practice with your kids to increase their survival skills.)

How to teach kids to prep

You can start teaching kids about prepping even before they start kindergarten. Simple lessons like not drinking water from a dirty puddle can eventually teach them about survival skills like water safety.

Before you go camping with your kids, give them a whistle on a lanyard and teach them how to use it to call for help: by blowing three blasts together, which is the international distress signal. If you’re separated, they can get rescued by park rangers or other rescue personnel.

Teach them how to find shelter. If they’re too young to build their own shelter, they can hide under a pine tree, as long as it’s big enough to crawl under. Show them that there’s usually enough space under the tree since its branches grow straight out from the trunk.

The last thing you can do is get them used to carry a pack filled with some snacks, a rain poncho, and some water. In case they get lost in the woods, your kids will know how to call for help and how to find shelter so they can survive until help arrives.

Start your kids early so they can learn how important prepping is, even before SHTF.

Read more articles with tips on how to teach kids various survival skills at Preparedness.news.

Sources include:

Survivopedia.com

BeSurvival.com