Kids and Caches

[GPS-Hermit]

I see comments from time to time showing concerns about Kids finding this or that in a cache - Knives or other things not appropriate. I wonder what Cacher tell their kids and whether the ADULTS are allowing kids to open the caches alone or supervised. I am most concerned about kids not finding something for them in the cache but I want to hear from you. This discussion is about the kids opening the cache and possibly finding something inappropriate for them.

[+briansnat]

Any adult who lets a kid open a cache unsupervised is irresponsible.

[+gravechaser]

I cache with our kids and am the only adult in the gang. All three know both of my rules-

 

1) nobody runs ahead of the overweight & out-of-shape Mom &

2) whoever finds the cache container cannot open it unless it is a micro (which the 13 yr old and I alternate log-signing).

 

When we've opened caches I've not found anything dangerous or banned but we have found a couple of small bubble bottles that we've traded out. Hopefully I've not been out of line in trading in the occasional set of nail clippers.

[BRTango]

My son is only 8 months old... so he understands perfectly well, that I will not allow him to open the cache on his own

 

But really... when I took my 6yr old nephew and my 4 yr old niece caching with me, I let them find the cache, but they were under clear instructions not to actually touch it or open it unless I hand it to them (after a quick inspection inside and out).

 

The interesting thing, is no matter what is in the cache, they have always found something that interests them. My nephew found a mini hi-lighter and was absolutely thrilled. Showed it to everyone he could for the next two days.

 

My niece was just thrilled about finding the cache in the first place and said the best thing about the Disney World vacation and cruise was finding the treasure with Uncle BRT

[AlBundy69]

Granted i've only done 121 caches so far, but i've never come across something dangerous or offensive to children (usually take at least one of the kids with me, and always have a great time). Cachers are a great bunch of people for the most part, so who would or why would someone put something in there a kid cant see or touch? Can some of ya give examples of "Bad" things you've found in caches? Just wondering what bad things have been placed in caches. Thank!

[+avalanchewolf]

They find it they get FTF picture for the scrapbook. But then a jacket usally is placed on the ground in which I empty the contents on to and they get the option for the swag swap.

 

We have found quite a few but nothing so far even remotley adult in nature , 99% of the time it is usally toys or such anyways.

 

Being 8,6 and 4 i dont think they will be hunting alone anytime soon and if you say geocaching to the 4 y/o she wont understand that anyways. She will confindently tell you it is not geocaching , it is treasure hunting

[X-isle]

I worry about dangerous items in anything ammo box size or larger. I have 6 kids. Five of them are pretty good, but my 11 year old swears he's a democrat. So I make him walk point.

[+halffast]

Icache with my 4 year old grandson.I let him hold and follow the arrow on the GPS when we get close.I let him find the cache container.I always search the items first.I tell him just incase there is a coin or TB I want it first.He seems to think thats OK.Then I let him choose what he wants to trade.Its amazing how a 4 year olds mind thinks when they choose just the right item to trade.Its great

[+LostPuppy]

In almost 800 finds, the most inappropriate thing I've come across in a cache is a pocket knife the size of my pinkie (which now resides on my key ring). I'm not fast enough to keep my kids (6 & 3) from retrieving the container, but I do try and stop them from rifling through it before I get a chance to inspect. That being said, if we find something inappropriate, it will just become a "teachable moment" and I will do my best to be a parent.

Edited March 10, 2007 by LostPuppy

[+Totem Clan]

I cache with my kids all the time. They find them, but they don't touch them until I do first. Not because of the swag in the cache, but the critters that could in or around some of the caches. We did find a snake under a cache once. That renforced the lesson even though it was just a racer.

 

I found a Bic lighter and in a cache once. That is the 'worst' thing I've ever found.

[+Renegade Knight]

The odds of finding something that a kid should not have in a cache, is less than the odds of them finding something they should not have in the wider world around the cache.

 

My kids open the cache if they find it first. Then they fight over the swag. Then I have my pick of the swag while they sort out their differences. My kids find things that interest them in the caches far more often than I do.

Edited March 10, 2007 by Renegade Knight

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

The odds of finding something that a kid should not have in a cache, is less than the odds of them finding something they should not have in the wider world around the cache.

 

My kids open the cache if they find it first. Then they fight over the swag. Then I have my pick of the swag while they sort out their differences. My kids find things that interest them in the caches far more often than I do.

Ditto!

 

Of my 6 my youngest is 15, but had caching come along in their 'youth' I would have had no problem with them opening the cache.

 

In the group of folks I regularly cache with there are at least six under 10... they are usually digging through the contents before we catch up!

 

I've never seen anything in on or around a cache as dangerous as the things most folks keep in their homes.

 

Maybe it's just different in the South, but I simply don't know anyone who lives in such fear all the time as I regularly see in these threads!

[physics_boy]

I'm brand new to geocaching, and I have to say, I've never thought about this topic before. I have taken my two young boys with me, but for now, they aren't usually strong enough to open an ammo box or lock-n-lock container - especially if is's frozen shut, so I've always opened it. Of course, the first kid to find the cache gets first pick of the loot!

 

It's hard to imagine a geocacher doing anything malicious to a cache (maybe I'm naive), but this topic has really got me thinking harder about that. Thanks guys!

[+Totem Clan]

I'm brand new to geocaching, and I have to say, I've never thought about this topic before. I have taken my two young boys with me, but for now, they aren't usually strong enough to open an ammo box or lock-n-lock container - especially if is's frozen shut, so I've always opened it. Of course, the first kid to find the cache gets first pick of the loot!

 

It's hard to imagine a geocacher doing anything malicious to a cache (maybe I'm naive), but this topic has really got me thinking harder about that. Thanks guys!

No you're not. As a group, cachers are good folk. I wouldn't ever worry about what might me in the cache.

 

Like I said, I would worry more about critters around the cache then any of the swag. And I'm not going to lose any sleep over that either.

 

 

We do the first to find, first to loot thing also. That make it that much more fun for them.

[+frivlas]

I cache with my kids (5 & 7) all the time. I always try to open the cache before they get a chance to. We found a pocket knife once and a live bullet once. In general, I'm not worried about what cachers leave in them so much as what muggles might do. I found a full unopened beer in a cache once, courtesy of a muggle who removed all but the log. The worst was one time when we went to find a themed full sized cache in some bushes. It was a bucket in a cauldron. I'm really glad I got to it first because well.....someone found a different use for the bucket and I wouldn't have wanted my kids opening it. All in all, that's only 2 bad experience in over 4000 finds, but I will still play it safe.

[+DresselDragons]

Just the other day we pulled a rather large pocket knife out of a cache. We also pulled an airline-sized bottle of Jim Beam from one of our caches during a maintenance visit in the fall. We never let the kids open any cache unsupervised. Even if they find the box, they know to wait for us.

[+wesleykey]

I cache with our kids and am the only adult in the gang. All three know both of my rules-

 

1) nobody runs ahead of the overweight & out-of-shape Mom &

2) whoever finds the cache container cannot open it unless it is a micro (which the 13 yr old and I alternate log-signing).

 

I'd say this is a bit too paranoid. I've never found anything that bad in 1500 + cache finds.

[+mikeslomka]

My 4 year old and (almost) 3 year old cache with me quite a bit. They are not yet strong enough to open an ammo box, but I am sure when they are, I will let them open it as long as I am with them. If we find something that is inappropriate, I will talk to them about it and tell them why it is inappropriate. My only concern is that there is something that looks like food but isn't. My son is still in that age where stuff may look tasty.

[+BRoKeN W]

We never let our son open a cache (and our daughter is just too young to even care). We have found dangerous things like a pocket knife and box cutters in caches, and we always remove them because they are unsafe for kids.

[+buddyluv4]

Mine are 7 and 9. They are never allowed out of our sight. They are free to walk up ahead a "bit" or behind as my son does since he is usually doing some self made-up large stick kungfu moves or something back there. When we get to the sight I love for them to hunt if the terrain is appropriate. They pull the cache out if they find it but we are always there when it is opened to make sure they don't lose anything out of it. I'm pretty quick. I really think I could grab anything inappropriate before they could hurt themselves.

[+dyerx4]

I do cache with my kids. That's why I do it. It seems like a great family activity. They refer to it as "finding treasures". But to let them open anything unsupervised is out of the question. I usually "preview" the contents, then let them have their pick of the swag. I am more concerned about the locations of the caches, than whats in them. There have been some unsavory encounters I have had (not with the kids) ex: homeless people, drug deals, even snakes. If it looks unsafe and I am with my kids, we will simply bipass that cache. I want it to be a fun, and more importantly, SAFE experience.

[+gravechaser]

I cache with our kids and am the only adult in the gang. All three know both of my rules-

 

1) nobody runs ahead of the overweight & out-of-shape Mom &

2) whoever finds the cache container cannot open it unless it is a micro (which the 13 yr old and I alternate log-signing).

 

I'd say this is a bit too paranoid. I've never found anything that bad in 1500 + cache finds.

 

Nah, not paranoid. You'd have to know my kids. The 6 and 10 yr old have gotten into fistfights over the contents before I can get to it. They have to wait until I get there so I can referee the inevitable fight over who get to make the trade.

 

I only allow one item to be traded out per cache and the little buggers conveniently forget who made the last trade. The 13 yr old can hold her own against the other two but she's more considerate of her old Mom and hangs back with me. She and I are just giddy to find the cache and sign the log!

 

So, my having the rules isn't paranoid. I'm just reducing the amount of blood shed!

Edited March 13, 2007 by gravechaser

[+geomann1]

I cache with my 7 YO son and 8 YO daughter, and have never found anything even remotely objectional. My biggest concern is critters (rattlesnakes) if they reach in the vegetation to grab the cache, which is why I usually full them out. Part of the fun for them is openning the cache to see what treasure is inside. Of course, I am right there, and usually have to help on the ammo boxes.

[+whistler & co.]

Sheesh...we must be completely disorganized! The only rule we seem to have while caching is that Little Whistler has to hold hands if we need to cross a busy road or a plank over a creek! Whoever finds the cache generally opens it. If the container seems icky, then dad gets to open it.

 

As yet another example of our lax parenting, our older son (age 14) received his own pocket knife for Christmas (with a strict lecture about when it is NOT appropriate to carry it), and Little Whistler was recently taught how to use the cordless drill (with adult supervision, of course) while his grandpa was making bluebird houses.

 

Inappropriate things we have found in caches: broken toys, scummy rubber keychains from area businesses, expired coupons and rebates, two marijuana (I can't even spell that word!) pipes, bottled water, chocolates, a lighter, and Tampax. (I hope THAT debate doesn't start up again!)

[+Totem Clan]

Sheesh...we must be completely disorganized! The only rule we seem to have while caching is that Little Whistler has to hold hands if we need to cross a busy road or a plank over a creek! Whoever finds the cache generally opens it. If the container seems icky, then dad gets to open it.

 

As yet another example of our lax parenting, our older son (age 14) received his own pocket knife for Christmas (with a strict lecture about when it is NOT appropriate to carry it), and Little Whistler was recently taught how to use the cordless drill (with adult supervision, of course) while his grandpa was making bluebird houses.

 

OMG!!!! You gave him a knife and you lectured him?!? You could have hurt his sensibilities.

 

We spend a lot of time in the wild. (Although there's not as much wild around here as there was was around us when we lived in Alaska). Our kids, age 10, 8, and 6, have already been taught the basics of how to handle a knife, an axe, and (at the risk of bringing down fire on my head) firearms responsibly. Don't get me wrong. They are not running around lose with any of those things. I just want my children to grow up and be self reliant and be able to take of themselves in the wild. My oldest has even learned to make fire using a bow drill. She quite good at it.

 

I think we risk more by over protecting our children, than we do by properly educating them.

 

Like I said earlier I don't let them run up and grab the cache before I or their mother get there. That is not because of what's in the cache, but the critters that could be around the cache. Also I like to see where the cache is hidden. And even if my kids did find something in the cache that wasn't suppose to be there, they would tell us instead of taking it.

 

They have taken food out of caches and CITOed it out of the woods, because they know it doesn't belong. One time there were some firecrackers in a cache. My 6 year old, at that time he was 5, saw them when Mom pulled them out of the cache, and made the commit that they should not be there. Kids are smarter than we think, if we give them the chance to be.

 

I have let the oldest get some of the caches. And as the other two show that they can do it properly, they can too.

[physics_boy]

Wow! Really good discussion, everyone! I'm from Northern Michigan, and - up until now - I wouldn't have thought twice about finding - or leaving - a pocket knife in a cache. I think nearly every kid from "Up North" has his own pocket knife. (Many even have their own guns, though they probably wouldn't leave a gun in a cache because they are too expensive.) I guess I've always thought of a pocket knife as a useful outdoor tool - to cut away some brush, whittle a walking stick, pry open a frozen cache, sharpen sticks for cooking, survival purposes, first aid, etc.....

 

This has really got me thinking a lot harder about the issue.

[+martinell]

The worse thing we have ever found was a soggy cache with sprouting seeds.

 

My kids are all little so I open the caches, but I can definitely foresee a time when they will open them up first. Education is the only way to teach the kids what to do with certain objects and what to do with certain circumstances.

[+Super_Nate]

In my 1,058 cache finds I have seen a few things that would go down as sketchy for parents of small children. One of those things was pills (which can be dangerous), pocket knives (which can be dangerous), and a small box of condoms (which can be stealthly removed from the cache and thrown away without the youngsters knowing what it is)

 

Most caches are family-friendly, but I do advise supervision of all boxes in the woods that you take your kids to.