Caching With Small Children

[+Team Tecmage]

In the last three years, our team has doubled in size, and our caching activity has slowed way down. We're trying to get out more and are dealing with the challenge of a 35 month old who loves to walk (okay, who am I kidding loves to run wild) for a while- like .25 - .5 miles, but refuses to ride in a jogging stroller. Of course our 6 month old is very content to ride in a different stroller.

 

Who else out there has small ones in tow on the trail, and how do they do?

[+martinell]

4 kids, 5,3,2 yrs & 6 mos.

 

You of course must choose caches with terrains below 2.5. Generally it is a "walk" until we get to the actual site where the "treasure hunt" begins. It is also wise to carry some swag in a cache container in your bag for them to trade from when the cache swag is not up to your standard. That way the kids always find something, and you are happy with what they find. We started doing this after a few cache containers were full of junk. This also works for DNF's when the kids are getting cranky.

 

I have carried the smaller kids through miles of tall weeds and cattails as well. Above all, remember to have fun. The point of caching with small children is to have a fun experience with them. The cache is definately secondary.

[+Kidatheart]

For the last two years I have had both my boys with on numerous hunts now age 4 and 6. I used to bring a wagon on searches and when they want to run they do and when they don't they ride. The biggest challenge I have is all the research I have to do, to ensure that the cache is kid friendly for their age, as some "kid friendly" caches are still a little bit much when both are with. Best thing I can suggest is having the kids carry their own bags with swag to trade, mine tend to be more into geocaching since they got their own bag.

[+usafknine]

We have to little ones and one soon to be teenager. Our little ones are 20 months and 6 months. We take them on most of our caches. Sometimes they end up sitting in the car with one of us, but a lot of times we take the smallest out and carry him or use the baby backpack. Our 20 month old wants no part of being carried and prefers to walk as much as possible. One of our first big caches with our 20 month old was when she was around 8 months old and it was a 5/5. She had fun watching us make fools of our self for an hour or so trying to retrieve the cache.

[+Blue Power Ranger]

I have an 11 year old daughter that can out-hike me and a seven year old son that has done up to and 11 mile hike in a single day. I would take either of them just about anywhere I would go myself. No slowdown at all.

 

I also have a 5-month old son. He slows us down a bit but he has come caching with us since he was 5-weeks old. We either carry him in his carrier, or in a backpack or in a stroller all depending on the terrain.

 

It is my opinion that you should encourage the children to go a bit beyond what they think they can do. Give them something to remember and help them to build their own confidence at the same time. Don't let the children entirely dictate the pace.

Edited July 17, 2006 by Blue Power Ranger

[wheetree]

I took my 30 month old daughter out the other day for her first find (and FTF, beginner's luck). We biked it (which she always loves) until we had to go off trail. Then she wanted to walk instead of being carried. I was concerned about this, but she found her way through the underbrush without too much trouble. She saw a deer and a chipmunk that she wanted to go play with.

When we found the cache, I told her she could pick 1 thing. As I was filling out the log she started grumbling and I asked her what was wrong. She couldn't get 1 jack out of the little bag of rubber jacks. Gotta love the way kids think. I told her it was okay to take the whole bag of jacks and she was happy - though confused about being able to take more than 1.

Another cacher came in as we were closing up. She was happy to tell him all about the find and the deer. Mostly though she was just happy to be doing something special with Daddy.

[gerboa]

I took my 30 month old daughter out the other day for her first find (and FTF, beginner's luck). We biked it (which she always loves) until we had to go off trail. Then she wanted to walk instead of being carried. I was concerned about this, but she found her way through the underbrush without too much trouble. She saw a deer and a chipmunk that she wanted to go play with.

When we found the cache, I told her she could pick 1 thing. As I was filling out the log she started grumbling and I asked her what was wrong. She couldn't get 1 jack out of the little bag of rubber jacks. Gotta love the way kids think. I told her it was okay to take the whole bag of jacks and she was happy - though confused about being able to take more than 1.

Another cacher came in as we were closing up. She was happy to tell him all about the find and the deer. Mostly though she was just happy to be doing something special with Daddy.

 

with all the angst on these forums what a treat to read such an endearing post...made my day !!

[+Maingray]

Ideas above are all good ones.

 

I have cached with my 4 year old son on and off through his life, and now my 2-month old has been on a series of caches already. My 4 year old can walk a decent way, and is my caching partner of choice. He whines a bit on the hot days and with the briars out in full force, or if we concentrate mainly on "small ones".

 

Vehicles of choice for differing ages: Baby Bjorn or stroller (one of those car seat strollers for the urban setting) -> back carrier or AT stroller -> walking / shoulder carry.

[gerboa]

Anyone with knowledge of young children have any ideas for puzzle caches where they can bring their knowledge of nursery rhymes,ad jingles and whatever is in their realm.? A recent cache was a hint about 'Billy Goat Gruff', only the child knew.

I guess a problem may be making sure they had a range of clues at each stage, or should they "suffer"

 

btw most adults could only relate to the Troll part of the tale...ultra tempes, ultra mores.

[+parker313]

In the last three years, our team has doubled in size, and our caching activity has slowed way down. We're trying to get out more and are dealing with the challenge of a 35 month old who loves to walk (okay, who am I kidding loves to run wild) for a while- like .25 - .5 miles, but refuses to ride in a jogging stroller. Of course our 6 month old is very content to ride in a different stroller.

 

Who else out there has small ones in tow on the trail, and how do they do?

2 kids - 3.5 and 13mos. Basically we just let Brodie run and do what he wants, as long as he's relatively near us and not where he's disturbing other people. He loves getting close and helping us look. Mason couldn't care less and is just along for the ride.

 

Lots of water, juice and snacks

[+Vinny & Sue Team]

Sue and I have never cached with small children, but there are several times that we have found small children left behind in caches as trade items by other cachers. In each such case, we left the small child as we found it, in the cache container for another finder, as we did not want the responsibility of feeding the child and caring for it till we could move it to a new cache. There is also that whole recent widely-publicized matter about the rabies shots to consider as well, you know.

 

Incidentally, we have also found space alien babies (alien grays from Zeta Reticuli system) in a few remote wilderness caches, and in these cases, we had much the same concerns as those iterated above (minus the rabies shot concern, of course...), and so we left the alien babies in the cache container.

[+queen_ladybug]

I usually cache with my children in tow. They are 9, 7 and 3 yr old twins. The oldest two don't mind micros (nor are they huge fans), but the little ones don't get them. I generally plan out 5 or 6 on a trip out in several different areas. Some are micros and the rest are regular size, so they get excited about treasure hunting. It's really funny, I expected them to not like the woods much, but they were more scared when we were looking for a couple of caches in our downtown area. They really didn't like walking down the sidewalk for some reason. They LOVE hiking in the woods though.

 

My advice is: Bring snacks and water, make sure everyone gets bug spray, and everyone needs to have on appropriate shoes. My little ones love wearing sandals so its hard to get them to put on tennis shoes to go hike.

[+Old Cavendish]

Vinny and Sue Team beat me to it. LOL!

[+Postman Pat]

I used to take my 8 year old 5 year old and 2.5 year old but when I was distracted by the 5 year old the smallest picked up a black needle container with needles exposed I managed to get him to drop it before he was hurt but since then the smallest won't be going with me till he is trusted not to pick up anything on the ground so a few sleepless nights was had with what could of happpened

[+Team Tecmage]

We've been talking about a wagon for our oldest, so the plan is to barrow one today and see if Solana will ride to caches.

 

Two rails to trails cache series have gone up near us, and we are either going to leave the kids with a sitter, or find a way to get Solana to sit in something for up to two mile round trip walks!

Edited July 19, 2006 by Team Tecmage

[+StarBrand]

The 4 year old will run in cirles around us on the way to the cache and rides on my shoulders walking back - (exhausted). The 8 month old is carried by me or my wife over most trails or the stroller with big tires when we can. On the rougher ones - my wife is staying in the car with the kids many times. We try and pick ones we can all do though.

[+parker313]

If anyone's looking for a double stroller that a toddler will actually stay in, check out the Sit N Stand that's at Target. There's a seat for the baby up front and then a little ledge seat in the back for the toddler. The toddler can either sit on the ledge seat or stand on the platform. Brodie hates riding in a regular stroller, but loves this. We don't have one, but a friend does and I've been seriously considering it...

[+Ichabod]

I regularly take my daughters, 7 and 5, caching. The 7 year old has a tendancy to complain, that's just her nature, but the 5 year old can go ANYWHERE. I've taken her on hard six mile hikes, through heavy brush, etc. She just keeps on going, and has tons of energy for the search once we get there. She's getting pretty good with the GPSr too.

 

Of course they both like finding the "treasure" at the end.

[+Jeep_Dog]

Well, obviously I haven't cached very recently, but within the last couple of months. Anyhow, we currently have a 3 year old and 1 year old. Both love getting out and about, and the 3 year old loves caching (well, ok, my wife correctly points out she loves the things asscoiated with geocaching - getting out, new places, PLAYGROUNDS!, and exploring, while she passively enjoys the actual caching).

 

Anyhow, the "HOW" is simple. Finding family-friendly caches anchored in or near parks (with playgrounds, of course) are the key. We did do one in the Black Hills that required a bit of a hike, and we just had to go very SLOWLY for the three year old to explore everything. Yes, everything, including the rocks.

 

Anyhow, my profile gallery has many photos (you have to get past the first page if Iraq caching photos to get to the family ones) and my commentary on how caching with a family does not facilitate lofty find counts, but sure is very enjoyable.

 

Oh, the tykes get carried. My wife carried the one year old on his first cache at 17 or so days old (had .6 mile each way hike - the Mrs. did very well!). Good quality kid backpacks are the key (I recommend Kelty - great packs with lots of pockets and features, and very comfortable). Even the three year old likes to climb up in the kid cachemobile when she needs a break. Yeah, I suppose carting around 30 pounds of kid and 20 pounds of kid support equipment also adds to the healtful benefits of geocaching...

 

Gosh, I miss caching with my family.... sniff sniff....

 

EDIT:

 

Wow. I just re-read a log for one of the last caches I did with the little ones, and it really sums up the "how" of caching with wee ones (and a good photo of the backpack, to boot). The log was for this cache, and I'll copy it here since I like how it sums things up...

 

"Came to the park for Duck Duck Goose, with little intention of finding micros today (one and three year olds have very little tolerance for micros, you see).

You see, when there's a one year old on my back, I have this new rule when it comes to micros of not spending more than a minute searching (unless the GPSr is pointing to an obvious, and smallish, landmark).

 

The new location for this cache fit my new rules. The GPSr pointed to an obvious spot, and about 5 seconds of searching turned up this micro. Aidan and I signed the log, took a photo or two (will upload sooner or later), and off we went happily down the trail again. Oh, the other micro on the other side of the field? Ha! The GPSr pointed nowhere in particular, so we did not even break stride to search.

 

Thanks for the cache. Aidan really liked the fire pit for some reason. He called it "CHOO CHOO," which is what he lately calls everything he likes. "

Edited July 19, 2006 by Jeep_Dog

[+Forty-n-Eight]

I cache with my 4 year old - he's up to just about 40 finds. We started taking him when he was about 3-1/2. I find the important part is choosing the hunt wisely - not too long, not too much elevation gain, no off-trail caches, etc. We also tend to avoid the micros when the kid's along as they're less interesting for him. I also bring my patience as he has a very laid-back approach to hiking/caching and likes to take his time. But, I consider geocaching a great activity for small kids and has been a lot of fun for us.

[+TEAM 360]

Caching with children must be tough, I tend to use smaller trade items that will fit into the cache a bit easier...

[+Harriet the Spy]

When I cache with my good friends the BabyBackPackers there are a total of 6 children ages 6 and under and 1 ten year old. The best advice is buy a portable DVD player. Turn it down low so they can hear it but have to be on the quiet side to do so. The kids don't even notice the stop and go of caching. And never be above bribing the kids with good snacks.

[+WalruZ]

I have a 9 Month old. We go hiking with a front pack, a front/back convertible is really best. Try to keep the hike under 4 hours. Stop & Go urbans are actually worse for this age group because you have to get them in and out of the car all the time.

 

Older kids probably love playground hides. Playgrounds are a Waymarking category, and I know one geocacher whose kids love playground Waymarking as a caching 'reward'.

 

You might also consider putting out your own series of playground hides. Don't hide the cache on the playground, instead, make it a multi and hide the cache nearby. Here's an example that I put out recently.

[+Team Peppercorn]

Our 4 year old was about 2 1/2 when we started caching. She has done about 90% of our 196 caches with us. She usually loves caching.

 

Since our 5 month old was born, our caching has really slowed down. 12 of the 27 caches we have done since her birth have been done as an entire family, all four of us. Some of the other 15 have been just our older daughter and me. Some have been just me.

 

When out with the baby, my wife carries her in a sling. If things aren't working out, we call it quits and go home, or get ice cream.

 

Caches will still be out there when the whole family can enjoy it again.

[whiteflaglap]

My wife, myself and my three boys 5, 4 and 15 months (Team SCR as we call ourselves) do all Caches together. Yes we are really new at it but if the kids don't go we don't go.

 

Once and a while one of has to sit with the 15 month old but on most we all look unless the terrain gets to bad and the kids cannot do it. Usually the last 50 to 100 feet.

Edited July 22, 2006 by whiteflaglap

[+srt4guy]

the youngest is 2-1/2 and at the mention of going caching she gets her coat, boots, not shoes, and the bug spray and is by the door ready to go out, the other two , 10&11 could care less. the two yo. rides most the way on my shoulders and will hike on occasion, (has to use my adjustable walking stic) loves to find play dough, bubbles.(i carry extra in my bag in case there is none) and is proud to tell everyone where she got her stuff.

Tim

[+LostPuppy]

I take my 5 & 2.5 yr olds out with me all the time. I think our biggest run was a 6 hour drive hitting 8 caches and stopping for pancakes halfway through. I had to carry the younger one a few times because he was tired of walking, but he was always game for the search. I find it a fun time to have them wandering through the park, but I always pay attention to when they start hitting their limits.

 

As was noted above, I also tend to do playground caches with them. They enjoy getting to play, going to hunt, and going back to play & swing some more. We'll also do those with Momma and the 5 mo old in tow. The littlest pup doesn't do much of the searching, though.

 

The worst part of this, was the day we all went to a huge play ground with one of those monstrous play structures. The 5yo went straight to play, but the 2.5 yo wouldn't get on the structure until after he checked the light pole skirt for a micro.

[Fiona Eliza & Florence]

I cache with my small daughter (now 5 months) and took the hobby up mainly to get me out of the house to new places with the small one so for me having her and doing geocaching are linked together. She loves being out for walks and often looks up into the trees and at flowers. I am gonna sound all slushy here but having her and seeing the world through her eyes has made me appreciate things differently like just how beautiful our world can be and what a lovely part of the world I live in! She sits in a sling so she can see out or snuggle in if she is tired.

http://img.geocaching.com/user/c780b39a-94...c06d1a471fc.jpg

Sorry for the hormones. xx