3 Tips for Hiking with Children

Safety Tips When Hiking

One of the most important parts of hiking with your children is teaching them how to stay safe while hiking. Before starting your hike, make sure you review safety rules with your child like staying close to the group, and not walking off the trail. Additionally, it’s helpful to have safety equipment on hand like a first aid kit to patch up any accidents that could happen along the way. Other things to include in your pack can be bug spray, a poncho, an extra cell phone battery, and a map. Safety tip: Secure a whistle to a zipper on your child’s clothing for them to use in case you become separated. Teach them that three sharp whistles mean “find me”.

Make a Plan but Be Flexible

Going on a hike is a great opportunity to explore and be free outdoors. That’s why even though you could be structured with your hike, it's much more fun when you’re spontaneous and just let the hike happen. That being said, the best bet is to look for a child-friendly hike that will give them enough spots to explore, while still being enjoyable for all.

Bring Snacks

Another important thing is to bring snacks and enough water on your hike. Hiking consumes a lot of energy, and exhaustion equals cranky kids. To keep your child motivated make sure to stop along the way for snacks and fluid breaks. Remember to always pick up after yourself and take any wrappers and trash with you to dispose of after the hike.

Hiking with children can be a great way to get the whole family moving. For more ways to help your child get more exercise, call Stretch-n-Grow in Winston-Salem NC at (336) 287-1193 for their excellent children's exercise programs.