Prepare Kids for Survival

We want the best for our kids. Parents go to extreme lengths to secure and comfort their child’s futures. Often parents invest, save, insure, and open bonds for the sake of their kids. What if the future of the world is not as we expect it to be. Recent disasters, pandemics, and regional conflicts indicate a future different than what we want it to be. How do we prepare and train our kids for survival? How can we secure their future in light of recent threats to civilization?

We want to make our kids physically and mentally prepared for what they could be facing. Kids need to be aware of the common disasters and basic responses to each.

For example, The Tsunami in late 2004 was a new concept in east Asia. In known history, it was the first time people were facing such an event. Before the Tsunami wave, the sea went miles far from the shore, creating yet another once-in-a-lifetime event. People ran into the beach to see this, making the death toll higher than it should have been. If they had they knew what could come next, they may have acted differently.

Basic knowledge of disasters and response is crucial for the kids. When an earthquake starts instead of panicking they need to know what to expect and what to do. 

Physical Readiness

Sports are good for kids. Being active in sports keeps them strong both mentally and physically. In the playground get kids to do tire jumps and rope climbing like activities.

How to train a child for survival?

Call for Help

To start with kids need to be taught how to dial 911 and to explain the situations (Emergency contacts could vary depending on the countries and regions). 

They should be taught why they need to avoid strangers and to contact parents, relatives, or family friends in case of an emergency. 

Camping 

Taking kids camping and making them move with the environment is a good start. With camping activities, kids adapt to situations outside their comfort zones.

But be cautious to take the security measures and choose the location according to the child’s age.

Wilderness Survival

Surviving in the jungle could be crucial in a disaster. So kids need to be taught how to survive in a jungle environment.

Below are a few wilderness skills you might want to teach a kid :

• Tracking in the jungle
• Choosing a place to camp overnight
• How to start a campfire and keep it going 
• Purifying water
• Map reading and deciding the direction

Scouting

Skills taught at scouting are what any man or woman needs to survive. Such skills not only help the kid for surviving but also he will be helping the people around him.

Below are a few skills commonly taught at scouting

• Knife skills
• Shelter building
• Campsite maintenance
• Distress signals
• Survival kit organizing
• First aid skills
• Cooking

First Aid Skills

Basic first aid knowledge is a value-added skill for a character throughout his life and especially in survival scenarios.

First aid is a broad topic but below are a few points you can start with :

• In the event of an accident
• Bleeding 
• Burns and scalds 
• Broken bones 
• Allergy
• Shock 
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

scouts.org.uk has a good guide on the above first aid approaches here.

Ride a Bike / Drive a Car 

At the proper age if a kid knows to ride a bicycle, motorbike, or drive a car he/she has more options if needed.

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