Geocaching With Kids

[+Jeep Seekers]

QUESTION: Is there an easy way to search for kid-friendly cashes? I search with my 5 and 8 year old and would like to be able to id easy terrain and easy locations only. Any suggestions?

[+BlueDeuce]

As a premium member you can do 'pocket query' searches which allow you to specify d/t, You can also search by attributes (those little pictures in the upper right corner of cache pages, kid friendy, takes less than an hour, etc.)

 

edit: oops

Edited November 28, 2005 by BlueDeuce

[Hugh Jazz]

In the Wichita area I maintain a public bookmark list of caches I feel are Kid Friendly. I haven't been to each cache but I do check maps and logs and cache descriptions to ensure that the cache will be a good experience to take a kid to. I'm currently in the process of field-checking each one.

 

Kid Friendly Wichita:

http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.a...1a-3342e8bc8464

[+The Leprechauns]

With the proliferation of microcaches, I'm finding it more and more difficult to locate cache containers that are large enough to hold a kid. Project APE caches are your best bet.

 

You might also consider choosing a different signature item. Once I got down to only one kid left, I switched over to hamsters.

[+Airmapper]

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

I hear you loud and clear. Besides all that's mentioned here (i.e. difficulty/terrain ratings, "kid friendly" icons), another thing to look at is the actual cache description as it will sometimes tell you whether it's a good cache to take the kids to.

 

I have much smaller kids (4 1/2 and 2 1/2), and they love "caching", but I have to be careful to find one that is either not too difficult a terrain (I find most 2's a little rough for them if I go myself with them, and even with my wife or a friend along a "2" can be a little difficult for kids that young) or that is not so difficult that they get bored and cranky (doing ones with encrypted hints help in that area).

 

Keep in mind that a 1.5 terrain rating may be easy until you get to "Ground Zero" on your GPS, but then involve rocks or other terrain that may still be difficult for a little one (however I think an 8 year old would definitely be able to handle it, I'm thinking more someone half that age or less).

 

Unfortunately, you rarely see a true "terrain 1" rated non-virtual cache because that is supposed to be a cache in which in a person in a wheelchair can easily go over and grab it. It would be nice to see more of these both for small kids and for handicapped individuals, but there aren't too many "terrain 1" situations that make for easy hiding from non-cachers who could steal or vandalize it.

 

If you are inexperienced in finding micros, you might want to avoid those with kids (especially smaller kids) if they get bored and cranky somewhat easily.

 

Just my thoughts. Good luck and happy caching!

Edited November 28, 2005 by hairymon

[+Jeep_Dog]

hairymon makes a good point. In my experience, difficulty is just as important as terrain ratings when it comes to geocaching with the family. Often, difficulty is at times a bit more important for me, since we can pack up the kids in nifty backpacks that offer protection from the elements and stray richochet tree branches, so even 2s and 3s for terrain are attainable. However, get a clever hide in a 2.5 and higher range, and things start going haywire after about 10 minutes. Toddlers and wee ones get bored really quickly if we do not find a cache, and I have had to abort more than one hunt due to the "ancy" factor of toddlers. I have also found that a 2.5 or 3 solo is quite a quick find, but that same difficulty is a 4 or a 5 when I have to keep one eye peeled on toddler antics and unable to concentrate on "where would I hide a cache?"

 

As bookmarks get more popular, I think this will be a great resource for kid or family friendly caches, and compiled by folks who have field tested the caches. For example, I have a list of family friendly caches that I am compiling and add to it as I find more caches that are easy on terrain, are fun to find (generally a regular sized cache with swag) for the kids, have safe parking (where we are not trying to unload the family assault vehicle on a busy road), have facilities (for young bladders), and are a safe environment. I make my listing public, so it shows on the cache pages so that it may help out other family-oriented cachers.

Edited November 28, 2005 by Jeep_Dog

[bogleman]

I think it all depends on your condition and your childrens condition. I have taken mine - 6, 8, 10 (2 girls & 1 boy) with me on some 4* hikes, +5 miles. The hardest part is keeping their attention and taking them to neat places so they can mess around on the way. They get bored really fast so I look for the short hikes and micros when they are with me. I give them each a turn on being the first to look and when they find the cache I give them $1. The kids really work well in the HIGH muggle areas & playground cache hides.

[+RobRee]

bear with me on this one......

 

yesterday we just did a 5.5 mile hike around 4 cache loop.

 

day before we did a 3 mile loop for 4 caches over easy terrain.

 

On Thanksgiving day we did a 3+ mile loop 1 multi (3 stops.) the multi was an elevation change from 400ft to 650ft back down to 200ft up to 400ft.

 

here are my caching partners.

Meredith -30+, Heather - 9, Zakk - 7.

 

don't underestimate your kids. they will amaze you. look for some shorter hikes, and work into the longer more difficult ones.

 

do your searches via query after you sign up for the premium membership. use the query to look for 1/1 difficulty, then try some 2/2, 3/3 etc.

this search allows for less than or equal to 1 difficulty, and terrain.

 

we are just in it for the fun, but we document all of our hikes.

Edited November 29, 2005 by RobRee

[+dmnrec]

I have also cached with my 4 and 9 y.o. for the past 2 years...my 4 y.o. can do some pretty good long, hard hikes....and then there are days where even a short easy hike, he gets tired and wants a piggy back ride...plan for lots of breaks and checking out the surroundings and be prepared to carry one or both of them!