If you are practicing the strategy of survival prepping, it’s important that you understand this is not a one person tactic and teach your family about living the survival prepper lifestyle.
If you have a spouse and children, this is something you need the entire family in on.
Not only does it help you achieve your goals of prepping faster when everyone is on board, but it also delivers peace of mind and greater effectiveness when your children are raised to understand how survival preparedness works.
Work Together As A Family Of Survival Preppers
Nothing is more jarring than having a major survival event occur and being the only one in the room who knows what to do, or how to do it.
By raising your family to be involved in your survival prepper plans, you are arming them with the knowledge they need to whether any terrible situation in a worst case scenario.
You are also teaching them how to be self-sufficient.
There are 10 things you can do to cultivate a survival prepper mindset among your entire family.
It is important that these ten things are done without using fear.
Instead of using fear, teach your loved ones these lessons by using an empowering tone and action plan.
Teach them why the survival prepper mindset is so important and show them how it can help them on their path to self-sufficiency in the future.
Begin Teaching Your Kids Survival Fundamentals
One of the most basic things you need to do in order to prepare your family for survival situations is to begin teaching them the fundamental skills they will need to survive.
You never know if you will be there to help them, so it’s imperative that you help them learn how to do this on their own.
Because water is the most important resource, start by teaching your children and spouse how to find or create clean water from an unclean source.
For example, you will want to teach them the difference between a running water source and a stagnant one, then explain to them the potential dangers that they cannot see.
Show them how to use water purifying products and also how to boil water to disinfect it.
You also want to teach your family how to find food if they are without the proper resources or adequate food storage.
There may be an instance where they have to bug out of their home and forget to take or are unable to take their bug out bag with them.
They need to know how to forage off of the land as well as how to trap small animals or gather other food to keep them alive.
If there is a possibility that they will not be in your local area, then you want to teach them how to source plants that are edible in whatever location they may be in.
After you teach them about food and water, you will want to go over the basics of setting up a shelter using the products that you have purchased, such as a tent, and also how to create a tent from what is found in nature.
Buy Survival Products That Are Right for Their Age and Size
If you are getting your family involved in the survival process, it’s important that you shop smart when you are stocking up on supplies and choose items that are a good fit for their age and size.
Younger children may not be able to carry a larger evacuation bag.
Younger children may have less energy then you, and will be unable to carry as much weight.
When you are packing their bug out bag, make sure you are including age appropriate items that will help them with both their physical and mental needs.
For example, if your child has a small stuffed animal that is extremely important to them, find a way fit in the bug out bag or attach it to the outside of the bug out bag to offer support in a stressful situation.
You want to put items in their bug out bag that they will know how to use on their own.
Again, there is always a possibility that you will not be with them at some point.
They need the essentials as well as items that will make survival easy on them.
Do not forget to include a children’s first aid kit.
Create Plans And Practice Implementing Them
One thing you want to do with your family in order to give them peace of mind with all survival situations is to create plans for each possible event.
You have to practice what to do, and not just talk about it.
Make sure that you have a plan for everyone to meet at a certain spot.
Make a contingency plan in case the family is unable to meet at home.
This is especially important if you have teenagers who are driving and may not be with the family when an event unfolds.
You want to teach your family how to analyze whether or not an area is safe to enter.
Have several different backup plans and make sure everyone knows in which order they are to adhere to them.
Practicing these plans is something that should be done periodically, but not on a regular basis.
For example, you don’t want to teach then what to do in the event of a wildfire every single weekend.
A better way to schedule the practice of your survival plans is to look for news that discusses the possibility of something happening, such as a hurricane forming off the coast.
Try to make the experience exciting and fun for your family, and don’t base it on fear or get angry and lecture them if they forget a step of the survival plan.
They are more likely to remember what to do in the event of an unexpected situation such as civil unrest it is an enjoyable situation, even if you are discussing something serious.
Get Them In Physical Shape For Survival
It’s important that you help your family get in physical shape for survival situations.
There is no need to harp on a young teenager to lose weight, and destroy their self-confidence, however.
Instead, make it about the physical tasks that they will be required to do in the event of an emergency, such as having to walk from one place to another if there is no possibility to fill the car with gas.
You can get your family on a regular walking schedule, which is even more effective if you do it outdoors in case of a bug out situation.
You can also help them learn how to hike in other settings, such as the wilderness, and you can start them on a strength training regimen.
Another option is to get them a pet, such as a dog and make it their responsibility to take the dog on daily walks.
Prepare Their Mind For Survival
Besides helping your family prepare their body for survival, you also want to help them ready their mindset.
The stress of a survival situation unfolding can be a heavy burden on all ages, but especially on children who feel very vulnerable.
It’s important that you talk to your kids and let them know that just because you are preparing for certain situations, doesn’t mean that they are inevitable.
You want them to feel empowered and brave, rather than terrified and shy of confronting the situation.
Your children will likely pick up on your attitude about survival prepping.
Make sure that you are not ranting about what’s in the news and instilling fear in their mind.
You may be blowing off steam, but to your child, it will seem like the end of the world.
Teach Them How To Use First Aid Products And Strategies
Every survival prepper needs to know how to use a variety of first aid products.
You may be the one that is hurt, and you will need your family to help treat your medical issues.
There may be a situation where your loved ones are separated from you and they will need to know how to use the first aid kit that is in their bug out bag.
Take time to go through the first aid kit and teach them how to use each item in it.
They will need to know things like how to dress wounds so that they don’t get infected, how to deal with rashes or pain from the sting of an insect, and even more serious things such as how to perform CPR to save a life.
Many places offer CPR training for young kids, so possibly sending them to a class in your area where other kids their age are learning how to perform CPR will encourage them.
Take Them To Different Survival Settings
To prepare your family for survival, they have to understand that it won’t always take place within the four walls of your home.
It may occur elsewhere due to situations that are out of your control such as a natural disaster.
Think about what you would do if your house wass destroyed or the area you live was suddenly uninhabitable.
If you have to bug out to another location, you don’t want it to be an unfamiliar and stressful situation for your family.
Get them familiar with how to live in nature by taking them camping and fishing, or at least how to survive in nature temporarily.
This will include things like learning how to forage for food, teaching them about wild animals that they may encounter as well as how to protect themselves from wild animals, and how to safely start a fire for both warmth and cooking purposes.
You can go on simple camping trips to various locations so that they can begin to see what it would be like to sleep in a tent or under a tarp.
They need to be familiar with what it sounds like to sleep under the stars, and how it feels when you do not have the convenience of a heater or air conditioner to regulate your body temperature.
Get Your Children Trained In Self Defense
In a survival situation, you will often encounter unsavory characters.
Whether they are trying to steal your supplies, or simply bringing chaos to the community, you want your family to know how to protect themselves.
There are many different forms of self-defense that you can teach children from a young age.
There are also martial arts programs that offer great self-defense classes.
Make sure everyone is trained to the best of their ability, and teach them what to do in the event of an attack.
It’s always best to evacuate as opposed to standing your ground and fighting about something.
Sometimes however you end up in some inevitable situations where fighting is your only option, so your family needs to know what to do if faced with that situation.
For example, if a dangerous situation occurs, you don’t want to have to tell your family what to do in front of the attacker.
It should already be decided that the children stand back out of the way, however the entire family should gang up on the individual if necessary.
Let Kids Know How To Alleviate Stress In Survival Situations
Because of the stress of a survival situation, even if it’s simply the grid going down temporarily, you want to teach your kids how to combat stress on their own.
There are many ways for children to learn how to self soothe that are healthy.
First, it helps for children to keep their mind occupied by doing tasks rather than sitting and fretting about an event.
You can keep them involved in helping around the house or campsite so that they feel useful.
Another thing you can do to help teach your child how to alleviate stress is to make sure that you have some age appropriate books that they would enjoy.
A book is a great way to become immersed in a different storyline than the one they are currently living.
If they are unable to read, then you can read to them.
You can also become adept at having them learn how to make up stories of their own to keep themselves entertained and keep their mind on something else.
It’s important that you pack some sort of entertainment in the bug out bag for your children to keep stress at bay.
The toys don’t have to be large or heavy, but they can go a long way in helping your child stay calm in the midst of chaos.
There are so many different games your family can play that do not require you carrying any type of supplies or toys.
For example, you can tell your child a riddle that they have to figure out, or play I Spy with them.
Have Your Kids Tested For Allergies In Case Of A Bug Out Scenario
In the event of a survival situation, you may have to bug out in nature, which can often cause certain family members to feel as if they are becoming sick.
The reality is, they are allergic to some of the local plant life.
Because you will be consuming nuts, or possibly having to be around insects such as bees, you want to make sure that the allergy issue is not serious enough for you to have to carry an Epi pen for them.
If your child is found to have certain local allergies to plant life, it may be helpful for you to invest in a supply of local, pure honey.
Have your child begin taking one tablespoon of this per day, and it should help their body acclimate to the local levels of pollen and other irritants.
Raising a family of preppers it can be both a fun and rewarding journey.
When everyone is involved, you will see more getting done towards your goal of being fully prepared for any and all survival situations.
Get them involved in every decision, both small and large.
If you’re shopping and want to pick up a couple of extra items for the food storage, have them help pick the items out.
Offer them guidance if they need it.
If you are shopping for a plot of land for a homestead, take them with you and let them voice their opinion about the land, even if you are the final decision maker.
They need to feel empowered about this issue, and listening to their opinions is important even if you choose to make a decision that is different.
Bug Out Bag + Evacuation Tips
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