Prepare day hiking kids for the possibility of getting lost

Lost children should stay away from water. Photo courtesy of Photoree.

Every parents’ nightmare is a lost child, and on a hiking trail the possibility of that occurring is great. In the woods, children easily can slip out of sight, and the dangers of an injury from a fall or of drowning rise. While such instances are rare, they can occur.

Arming our children with the knowledge they need to ensure they can be more quickly found is thus paramount before setting out on a hike.

Knowledge is power
Children should know basic information about themselves that will help authorities reunite them with their parents. Among that info is:
g Their first and last name
g How to spell their last name
g Their parents’ names
g Their telephone number
g The name of the place they are staying, such as the campground or hotel
As a two-year-old likely can do little better than remember his first and last name (which he may not pronounce correctly) and because panic can seize up an older child’s memory, also have children carry an emergency information card that contains the above information. That card should include their full address, blood type, and allergies.

What to do if lost
Teaching a child what to do once he realizes he’s lost is paramount. First, he ought to stay put. The more he walks, the more likely he is to wander farther away from the trail and so will be more difficult to find. Going near water or climbing rocks also can lead to injuries, so a lost child should refrain from those activities. Secondly, have him blow on his safety whistle rather than shout for help. Shouting will cause him to lose his voice much more quickly than blowing on a whistle will cause him to lose his breath. Worse, if he’s hoarse, he may not be able to respond loudly enough to rescuers calling his name. The sound of a safety whistle also can be heard from farther away than a kid’s shout.

Ask for help
When another hiker crosses paths, the child should ask for help. The odds are against a fellow hiker being a dangerous person. The child should explain he is lost, that he needs help, and ask the adult to escort him to safety. Teach a child to present his emergency information card to an adult.

Supply your child
If a child is old enough, have him wear a daypack with a few sundries in it. Among the items would be an extra emergency information card, a snack or two, a bottle of water, a sweatshirt and hat, a map with your trail marked on it, an extra safety whistle, and a small flashlight. If your child is a teenager, include a first-aid kit that he knows how to use. These items can help a child get by for a few hours until rescuers find him.

Practice makes perfect
In addition to going over all of this with a child, practice it. The safety of the backyard makes a perfect spot to “practice” what to do if lost. A child who has simulated this experience and knows that people are looking for him is less likely to panic should he actually become lost. In addition, each time you head out to the trail, review the background information he needs to provide to adults and what to do if lost.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

Plan out what to pack for hike with kids

Preparation for the trail doesn’t end with selecting a route and buying some gear. The next step is packing.

Begin with your water supply. Make sure canteens, water bottles and hydration systems are full; fill them up the night before and leave them in the refrigerator so that you have cold water. Just before hitting the road, strap one canteen to each side of the backpack or fanny pack/utility belt so that they’re more balanced.

Inspect - then pack
Next, make a checklist of everything you plan to take. Inspect each item to ensure it is in working order. As you place it in your fanny pack or backpack, mark off the item.

If lugging a backpack, don’t place pointy objects near your back or they’ll find a way to push into you the entire hike. Generally, the heaviest items go in last, at the bag’s top. This will provide you the greatest comfort when walking.

But for some hikers, the packing order is a bit more complicated. “In my backpack, the heaviest items always go to the front, which is nearest your back,” said Tim L., Harrisonburg, Va. “If the trail is smooth, the heaviest items go to the top. If the trail is rough, the heaviest items go in the bag’s middle or halfway up. If the terrain is extremely rugged, the heavy items go to the bottom.”

Don’t let kids overload packs
Place items you’ll need to get to quickly in the backpack’s sidepockets or at top of the fanny pack. These objects probably will include a first-aid kit, toilet paper and sunscreen lotion. Don’t tie lots of stuff to the outside of the backpack as they can snag on branches and come off.

After you’ve taken care of your gear, do all of the children’s daypacks, preferably with their assistance (and if they’re old enough to carry a backpack, they’re old enough to help). Make sure their pack isn’t overloaded. Among the items that should go in it are a safety whistle, emergency snack, rain jacket and probably a small first-aid kit. Teenagers can carry more, and you can entrust to their care some of what you used to carry when they were younger.

The final step is loading your vehicle. Most of the gear can be packed the night before, but any pieces involving canteens or water bottles obviously will have to wait until morning.

Read more about day hiking with children in the guidebook Hikes with Tykes.

Packing checklist for day hiking with kids

Illustration courtesy of By GitHub (github.com/
github/octicons) via Wikimedia Commons

As the following items are placed in your fanny pack or backpack, cross them off (some items may be connected to your belt or backpack, carried around your neck on a lanyard, or worn). You may wish to add items to the list:
g Camera w/ extra batteries
g Candle
g Canteens filled w/ water
g Carabiners
g Compass
g Diapers (if applicable)
g First-aid kit
g Flashlight w/ extra batteries
g GPS (if applicable)
g Insect repellent
g Lip balm
g Maps
g Matches
g Mobile phone
g Multi-purpose tool
g Picnic lunch ingredients (if picnic is planned)
g Prescription medications (if applicable)
g Rain gear (poncho or jacket w/ trousers)
g Re-sealable plastic bags
g Rope
g Safety whistle
g Snacks
g Space blanket
g Sunscreen
g Tarpaulin (if backpack is used)
g Toilet paper
g Toilet trowel
g Wet wipes
g Wristwatch

If an unweaned infant or toddler is with you:
g Bottle w/ nipple
g Milk or formula
g Pacifier

If children are carrying daypacks, place in them:
g Jacket (for rain or wind)
g Maps (duplicates of yours)
g Safety whistle
g Snack

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

Hiking children should carry whistle, ID card

Even those parents who keep a close eye on their children sometimes get distracted enough that their child wanders off and gets lost.

To ensure children can let parents know where they are upon becoming lost, have them wear a safety whistle, attached to a lanyard, around their neck. Tell the child in advance that should they become lost to simply blow on the whistle. The sound of a whistle will travel farther than a shout.

Consider including an ID card on the lanyard, especially if the child is a preschooler or of very young elementary school age. In case the lost child is injured but then found by others, the ID card can be useful in providing important medical information.

The ID card should include the child’s name and date of birth, the parents’ names and their contact information (especially a telephone number), blood type, and any allergies.

Read more about day hiking with children in my guidebook Hikes with Tykes.

Search strategies for children lost on hike

If a child is lost, search nearby waterways. Kids often are drawn to water.

Use safety whistle
to help locate
one another

There perhaps is no greater fear among parents than not knowing where their child is. All of us have experienced moments when our child has wandered off when we had turned away only for a second, leaving us feeling totally helpless as we scanned the busy street or mall but couldn’t locate him or her.

When day hiking with children, the potential for a child to amble off and become lost are high. The wilds are full of intriguing sights that can grab a child’s attention while we’re fiddling with gear, trying to reload our backpack, or find ourselves enamored by some vista. Once lost, we know the child is at the mercy of the elements and faces any number of dangers from drowning in water to suffering an injury in a bad fall.

You can decrease the chances of a child becoming lost by taking some precautionary steps. Before heading onto the trail, discuss with your child the importance of always staying in sight of you and of always remaining on the trail. In addition, go over with them what to do if lost: He should stop walking, remain in that spot, and know that you’re looking for him. Finally, always have your child carry a safety whistle, which he should blow on upon realizing he’s lost.

Even then, your child may wander away during a day hike. So what should you do then?

First rule: Don't panic
The first rule is don’t panic. By keeping a cool head, you’ll be able to make the best decisions about finding your child. The odds favor him being very nearby, and if he stopped walking once he realized he was lost and blows on his safety whistle, you’ll find him very quickly.

Next, begin the search by blowing on your whistle to let the child know you’re nearby. The whistle’s sound will travel farther than your voice. Hopefully he will whistle back, and then you can go to him.

If the child does not respond, contact officials immediately, if at all possible, without leaving the area. Even though you may find your child shortly thereafter, he may be injured and need medical attention. With a rescue team on the way, your injured child will receive help sooner.

If there’s no response to the whistle, begin a circular search of the immediate area, walking in a spiral pattern from a central point, known as “home.” If there are others with you, always search in teams, and never send young children to conduct a search. Make sure some of the party stays at “home” so more of you don’t become lost. Have the party at home shout the lost child’s names, and if darkness falls, keep a light shining there.

Pay close attention to bodies of water such as streams and lakes. Children often are attracted to bodies of water and simply may have wandered off to take a look.

Keep child's shirt in vehicle
When rescuers arrive, work with them. Don’t withhold any information and do as they ask. They have a lot of experience at rescue work and really are using the best strategies to quickly find your children.

You also should know what your child was wearing so you can provide good descriptions of them to rescuers.

Also, always keep one of the child’s belongings, such as a recently worn shirt, in your vehicle. Search dogs can use this to get the child’s scent. Some parents even take pictures of the kids’ boot soles so they’ll be easier to locate during a search.

With a little luck, you’ll quickly find your child, and the experience won’t be traumatic. When researching my book Hikes with Tykes: A Practical Guide to Day Hiking with Children, many parents told me that they found their lost child within a minute or two, and that often their child couldn’t understand what all of the fuss was about – he was just over there looking at an interesting bug.

This blog entry originally appeared in the Jan. 18, 2012, edition of Seattle Backpackers Magazine.

Read more about day hiking with children in my guidebook Hikes with Tykes.

Carry safety whistle when hiking with kids

Image courtesy of Robert Cochrane
 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A safety whistle is a very useful tool during emergencies. Its sound will carry farther than a shout, so you’ll be easier to locate if lost. A whistle also can be used to communicate with others in your party if they are lost, rush too far ahead, or fall too far behind. It also can be used to scare away some potentially dangerous animals.

Carry them around your neck or in an easy to reach pocket so you do not have to dig for them in an emergency. Each child able to use a whistle should carry one.

Related articles:
g Carry wet wipes during day hike with children
g Select right sunglasses for hiking children
g Pack waterproof bags on day hike with children

Read more about day hiking with children in my guidebook Hikes with Tykes.