Whether you are bundling up the family for a fun weekend in the mountains, or frantically grabbing your bugout bag and a few irreplaceable possessions as the fireman is hollering at the entire street to evacuate NOW, if you have children, there is an additional layer of worry: Keeping them safe from the dangers both inherent in what is happening and the ones that they innocently can bring on themselves. A few common sense precautions can help you have an enjoyable camping trip, and if it’s an emergency, keep a rough situation from being rougher.
When to talk about safety? Especially with the attention spans of young ones, it probably needs to be several times, and include some practice sessions. With a bugout bag, when you rotate the food and snacks, the promise of imminent munchies will focus their attention for at least a few minutes. And when you arrive at your destination, be it the lakeside campground or an evacuation center, before any fun begins and kids disperse, it’s a good idea to sit them down around the picnic table and review the rules. Since you are the parents, you get to make the rules, but here are a few ideas that work well for us:
Buddy system. This means no one leaves the immediate camping area alone. You take your assigned buddy or you don’t go. If there is an odd number, the youngest get stuck with mom or dad. This rule seems onerous, but two heads think clearer than one, and if there is a problem, someone needs to be able to go for help.
No running. This rule might be modified when tossing a football or Frisbee ® around in the meadow, but generally speaking, no running or rough horseplay allowed in the camp.
No Bare feet. My personal opinion is that sandals or water socks should be worn even when swimming. A sharp rock or broken glass can turn a fun campout into a run to urgent care, and in an emergency, medical care may be impossible to obtain for several days.
Under no circumstances is food to be stored in the tent or left overnight on the table. Too many critters are out there that would be delighted to help relieve you of the burden of storing your food. In most areas, your vehicle will suffice. However, in areas where bears have become habituated to human food, either use lockers provided by the Forest Service, or buy some bearproof food containers, lest your car end up like this: (Extreme example from Yosemite National Park)
Know how to avoid Poisonous plants. I have, in my many years of wilderness travel, only seen a handful of dangerous animals such as rattlesnakes, and only felt threatened once, by a moose with a baby. But hardly a hike goes by that I don’t run into Poison Oak or Ivy. Poison Sumac doesn’t occur in my part of the country. These plants are easy to recognize and avoid, so show your kids what they look like and remind them to stay away. I can’t think of a single good thing that comes out of an encounter with a poisonous plant.
To avoid a common backcountry injury, make the guy lines around your tent visible. A short piece of bright plastic ribbon tied at knee height should keep you from stumbling into the line in the dark.
Make a habit of applying bug juice. As chemical as it sounds, nothing beats DEET-based compounds. And it’s not just mosquitoes, but ticks, which can lead to Lyme disease. If you find yourself in really bad tick country, a daily retire-to-the-tent-and-strip inspection may be in order.
If you have a campfire, make it a safe one. No running around with sticks you lit in the fire, keep flammables back ten feet, and have a bucket of water where you can get to it quickly. But don’t go overboard. Where are those marshmallows?
Make sure everyone knows about basic hygiene. I can’t think of a faster way to ruin a trip than with the barfies. If the bathroom facilities have soap and running water, use them. Every time. If-as will usually be the case-soap and water are not provided, insist that members of your group wash up after every use, and then slather on the hand sanitizer gel. Remember, those hands are going to be helping to prepare dinner in a few hours.
