Day Hiking Trails: How to handle kids' tantrums on hikes

Thursday, December 15, 2011

How to handle kids' tantrums on hikes

Image courtesy of David Castillo
Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A tantrum is simply the child showing anger and frustration in what for them is a stressful situation. As a parent, you want to first get the child to learn that an angry outburst is not the appropriate way to behave.

Given this, treat the tantrum on the hiking trail exactly as you would at home. This probably means a time out. Once heads are calmer, try to determine what is the source of frustration and resolve it, ideally teaching the children in the process some skill that will help them resolve the problem on their own in the future.

Related articles:
g Trail etiquette all children show learn
g How to handle nuisances on trail when day hiking with kids

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

Meet the Author

My name is Rob Bignell. I'm a long-time hiker, journalist and editor. My son Kieran and I have been hiking together for the past decade. Before Kieran, I taught middle school students in New Mexico and Wisconsin, served as an infantryman in the Army National Guard, and worked in newspapers. I've won several journalism awards, from editorial writing to sports reporting. In 2001, The Prescott Journal, which I served as managing editor of, was named Wisconsin’s Weekly Newspaper of the Year. Currently I own and operate an online editing business, Inventing Reality Editing Service. After spending several years in Southern California, my son and I now live in Wisconsin on the scenic Red Cedar River.