Is your wife and kids ready to survive?

[Wildthang]

I know several guys that practice survival, but they always seem to do it alone, and never include their family. So it makes me wonder, if there was ever a major SHTF event, how would their family's adapt to the survival mode. Yes the guys would know the way to survive, but it seems that it would be a better scenario if their family's has some skills to survive as well.
I have started taking the girls camping, and am slowly teaching them skills, because they are both city girls and up to this point, have absolutely no skills to survive. They can now build a fire, cook on an open fire, and gather dry wood.
One thing I think is important as well is to teach your kids some skills, and to be comfortable with primative camping. That will lessen the fear if they ever have to survive in the wilderness because fear is always your worst enemy!
So, is your family prepared?

[Sam]

I have an Amazing wife. She hikes, camps, fishes, and shoots. She also is very level headed in bad situations. I am blessed.
-Sam

[postman]

My kids have been camping their whole lives, have been taught survival skills as well. My wife on the other hand wouldn't do so well, her idea of camping is a night at the Marriot, room service, pool, the works.

[1stimestar]

Well it's just me and my kids now but yep my kids have been camping with me their whole lives. When my son was 6 weeks old he went camping across the US with me even lol. He's been building the camp fires since he was 11. He's 13 now. My daughter is 10 and can't really start the fire yet as she is leary of matches, but she knows how to set one up and how to add wood to it. They both know a bit about how to cook on an open fire as that is normally the only way I cook when camping. Having lived in a waterless cabin for 2 years, they both know how to do that as part of daily living (hauling water, using an outhouse, etc). My son knows how to fish and my daughter helps me clean the fish. They both go berry picking with me every year and help me in the garden. So, they have a pretty good start.

[Rick]

That's a subject that has been talked about quite a bit. Most on here work to that end at some level or other. I'm not a bug out kind of guy and I prep for natural disasters so we've table topped house fires, tornadoes and blizzards. We've walked through house fire evacuations and practiced tornado drills. We've even practiced bug outs a few times. The critical element to practicing it is to perform a post mortem on the exercise to determine what did and didn't work so you can adjust your plan.

[BENESSE]

While it's useful to teach your loved ones especially children, about various SHTF scenarios, make sure they're aware about day to day survival scenarios: Fiscal responsibility. The importance of education and marketable skills. Healthy lifestyle. Independence. Self respect and respect of others.
Develop their instincts for recognizing things out of the ordinary and make them feel comfortable bringing them up to your attention.
It takes skill to get through this life successfully even when all's well. That's the foundation which supports everything else...it's what ensures you'll still be standing when all around you gets out of whack.

[jake abraham]

I have a wonderful wife she shoots guns & archery camp & hikes

[your_comforting_company]

How will my family adapt? Like the Tyrannosaurus and dodobirds, I imagine.
Face it. Everybody likes the way life is now and nobody wants to muddle the notion around in their heads that it will ever end, especially my own parents. I think my wife and kids get enough exposure to my way of thinking, that if it really came down to it, they would suck it up and do their best to pitch in.

[Winter]

I'm with Benesse on this. I teach them to never lie, never cheat, and never leave a bully unbloodied.

That said, I teach them when I can interest them. I know from my childhood and now that you can't force me to enjoy anything. I/they do, or don't.

My son is one of my camping adventure buddies. My daughters, though they like shooting, could give a rats patootie about most of the rest. Fortunately Alaska's school system has it's infamous 8th grade survival trip where they have to live out of a coffee can for 3 days.

I found, for a 3 dayer, that butter and seasoning salt makes it the most comfy. The blandest edible is yummy with the proper application of butter.

[finallyME]

I teach my kids and wife when I can, and when they are willing to listen. With kids, however, it takes repetition. Just because they can do it now doesn't mean they can do it tomorrow.

[Wildthang]

Well all you can do is expose them to it, and they will probably surprise you if and when the time comes to survive. My kids are 18 and 20 now, but they learned a lot when they were younger, and I think it would come back to them pretty quick if it ever hits the fan!
Sometimes it doesn't seem like they are learning, but they are!

[bulrush]

My son is an Eagle scout and he updated a few of my techniques. Like, dry paper towel makes great tinder for catching a spark, but a dry paper towel soaked in bacon grease works even better. He'll do fine in a power outage situation. Except he may not survive being without his ipod! lol.

[birdman6660]

my wife and kids are well adapted to survival ... even here at home its a survivla thing .. all wood heat ... frozen water lines half the time .. cooking on woodstove ... moose hunting .. wabbit snares etc .. yeah .. we good to go ! bring it on LOL ! ! !

[Wildthang]

Well my girls are pretty much full blown city girls, but they are slowly adapting and adjusting. I just keep taking them camping, and teaching them things. They try really hard to learn everything I try to teach them, because they no that there is no b*tching allowed!

[Willie]

My wife had nothing to do with learning about survival. BUT I started watching some survival shows while we watch tv, and she started gettng the point. She still has not learned/practiced anything but at least she listens now. And knows a bit more about why its important to me! Because weather she or my son learns anything about survival, I will still be the one they look for when the SHTF. My grandbaby is almost a year now and loves her papa, so Im sure she will learn what the others care not to. She loves being outside and to watch the fire,so its a good start!

Willie

[Swede]

My Bride is part of my "survival kit" she is the head pyromaniac of the family!!! She also shoots better than I do (note to self), and is the queen of canning all things good. She actually is my inspiration as she wants to be as close to self-sufficient as we can be even BEFORE anything goes wrong!! Great to have family involvement and it REALLY makes being prepared for the worse much simpler as a team!!