Originally Posted by
natertot
Hi Survival Mama,
I think you have the right idea, just your path to achieve it needs to be readjusted a little. But, first things first. Congrats on the new one about to come and I applaud you for your efforts as a single mom. As a guy who grew up in a crappy situation, I can tell you that a good male role is paramount for the little one whether it be a uncle, grandparent, or friend of the family. The male role model is instrumental in so many ways that I could fill up a whole thread on that alone!
Next, you need to focus on preparing for arrival. Make sure you have the initial things for when the child arrives. When the child does arrive, the first things you need to teach it are how to speak, (names, counting, and colors are usually the first basics) and how to walk. There is more to survival than building fires. I am of the opinion it is more important that as a child grows, they understand the importance of hygiene, balanced diet, "stranger danger", and how to remove themselves from a dangerous situation (such as safe street crossing, escaping a house fire, how to use 911, etc). These things are more paramount for survival today than bush craft skills.
Now, I am not saying that kids can't or shouldn't learn bush craft things. First, every child is different and as a parent, you have to take into considerations their maturity and their abilities. For example, I have to kids, an eight year old daughter and a son who is soon to turn six. Just recently, we have started working with my daughter on how to use a sharp knife. Not because she is immature, but because of her ability. She has always been accident prone and mishaps follow her every where, many times the result of a lack of coordination. My son on the other hand is very coordinated, but I still don't let him try real sharp knives because of his maturity level. He listens quite well, but he tends to not grasp the full understanding of many dangers, including knives. As a parent, you have to figure out what they are and aren't ready for but this doesn't mean you can't expose them or teach them things. As Grizz said, you do it and let them see. Kids under five learn most of what they know through observation and you can have them help in small ways. My son use to follow me with the bag of stakes when I put up a tent, handing me one as I requested and he felt like a huge helper. He now has a small junior tent he puts up on his own when ever he wants to play camping. Likewise, I do not give him or my daughter the lighter or the matches, but they help gather kindling and build the initial structure for the fire to be lit.
As age increases, so does ability, coordination, and maturity. If you present appropriate outdoor concepts then they will achieve them and be ready for more. Similar to the way you teach a toddler to count but then in elementary school they learn addition, subtraction, multiplication and division then later on they will learn algebra.
Another thing to keep in mind is that kids like to spill the beans. My daughter has her own rifle, but I have had to limit her use on it because she kept talking about it a little too much. I was concerned that an anti-gun daycare worker or school teacher would catch wind and I would be turned into child services. She is ready for her .22, but I really don't want to go through all that crap to prove my way of parenting isn't detrimental and risk losing some of my professional licensing.
I know you asked a question hoping for a more black and white answer. Unfortunately, your question doesn't merit one. I hope I gave you some food for thought that will help you wade through what you seek too accomplish.
Welcome to the forum, btw!
