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eschu37

By eschu37
in How do I...?

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FamilyDNA

+FamilyDNA

Posted
Posted

We are thinking of getting a GPS for our 13 yr old son....he would love this "hunting/searching" game. My question: is this safe for kids? Thanks so much!

Absolutely! I cache with my nine year old (she was 7 when we got started). Overall, I'd say the "dangers" are about equal to hiking and similar outdoor activities.

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briansnat

+briansnat

Posted
Posted

Safe is a relative term. Is geocaching guaranteed safe? Absolutely not. There is always risk when you venture outdoors.

 

There are some geocaches in precarious spots, though these are very rare and they are rated accordingly on the cache page. The overwhelming majority of geocaches, particularly those in urban and suburban areas are

kid friendly. By that I mean that there is no more risk than a hike in the woods or a walk in the park.

 

Overall the risk in geocaching is probably a bit less than riding a bicycle.

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elmuyloco5

+elmuyloco5

Posted
Posted

We cache with our three kids aged 6-9. They love it! There are dangers everywhere in the world, even if you don't even leave your home. But, geocaching has a few particular things that you should be aware of:

 

1. Same dangers as you would hiking (on rural caches). What specific dangers depends completely on the environment in the area you're caching (desert, mountain, etc). Keep in mind the types of wildlife you have in your area, as well as any poisonous plants or insects. Teaching them what poisonous plants look like, and how to read animal tracks can be very helpful.

 

2. Same dangers as you have walking around downtown (on urban caches). The "in town" caches can vary from parks to right beside a busy roadway.

 

3. You might find items that are of inappropriate nature in the containers. Although this doesn't happen very often (we've never had a problem in the 100+ we've done), some people find things in or around the cache that might not be things you want your kid to see or touch. The best thing to do with small kids is to gently empty the contents of the cache onto the floor before you go through it. This won't necessarily keep them from seeing whatever might be offensive, but those are the chances you have to be willing to take. It will keep them from getting cut or poked with something though.

 

4. You might become addicted. Once you start finding the caches, it's hard to stop :laughing:

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Elicate

+Elicate

Posted
Posted

We are thinking of getting a GPS for our 13 yr old son....he would love this "hunting/searching" game. My question: is this safe for kids? Thanks so much!

 

I imagine that by the age of 13 your son has already done things far more dangerous than geocaching is. I know I was lucky to survive to that age :laughing:

 

Just start with low difficulty/terrain and work your way up. Some 1-1s are safer than going to wallyworld :D

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AustinSweetnSour

+AustinSweetnSour

Posted
Posted

We are thinking of getting a GPS for our 13 yr old son....he would love this "hunting/searching" game. My question: is this safe for kids? Thanks so much!

 

I just started Geocaching with my 3 kids this summer. They are 13, 11, and 6, and they absolutely love it. I have never came across anything while caching that I disapprove of, concerning the kids, and it has been just what we needed to bring us closer as a family. I highly recommend this for families! :blink:

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HyperactiveGirl

+HyperactiveGirl

Posted
Posted

I just started geocaching this week, and it is way more fun than I even thought it would be. I brought my boyfriend and his 7-year-old son to three caches. The boy was so excited to use the GPS as his "treasure map" and he even beat out the adults in finding some of the caches! He loved tromping through some woods in the middle of the city and we loved it too. Plus it is a great opportunity to teach this child that grew up in the city all about nature. I was looking for some fun activities to do over the winter since a lot of my summer sports are done for the year, and I am HOOKED! I went and got some really warm clothes so we play outside all winter hunting for caches. I would definately recommend this activity for parents. You can teach your kids a lot of great life lessons and spend really great quality time with them and it is fun for everyone.

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jeniferdwn

jeniferdwn

Posted
Posted

I haven't done that much geocaching yet becuase I don't have a GPS yet (please Santa!), but I've done alot of letterboxing which is the same idea. I take my 5 yr old and my 3 month old. Of course we don't go alone after dark, we don't go places that look "iffy" and we don't go through woods and tall grass in summer, but if your 13 yr old goes with someone else and is careful, it's alot of fun. I guess the biggest think is to be aware of your surroundings. and use common sense. We spent all day Saturday letterboxing in the mountains and it was a very fun day for me, my husband and our 5 yr old. We spent the whole day together as a family and we were outside. No TV or video games. Lots of sunshine and excercise! Can't wait to get a GPS so I can find more!

 

dawn

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muddymom

+muddymom

Posted
Posted

We just started geocaching a few weeks ago with our 5 and 2 year old. They both love it!

We were going for daily walks with the dog anyway and this was something fun to do along the way. (It keeps the kids moving faster)

I take my 2 year old to the ones in parks so we can play and hunt at the same time.

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tarbal

+tarbal

Posted
Posted

I take my 3 and 9 year old caching all the time. The younger one was up to about 1 mile hiking last year before he would want the backpack. This year he is good for about 2.5 miles.

It is a great family event. It is also really good for breaking up long trips. We will load caches along a route and have several stops along the way to find caches. This makes the trip more interesting and we find some really cool spots of interest. My daughter has started a pin collection from different locations that she has found in the caches.

It has been great to find some hidden spots hat we did not know about right in our own back yard for instance caves, waterfalls, plane crashes, historic places etc.

 

Its not the destination it's the journey

 

tarbaL

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knowschad

knowschad

Posted
Posted

We are thinking of getting a GPS for our 13 yr old son....he would love this "hunting/searching" game. My question: is this safe for kids? Thanks so much!

 

A couple of things that probably you should clarify:

 

First, where do you live? That may or may not have bearing on what sorts of risks he would face.

Second, are you talking about him caching with you, or alone?

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Renegade Knight

+Renegade Knight

Posted
Posted

We are thinking of getting a GPS for our 13 yr old son....he would love this "hunting/searching" game. My question: is this safe for kids? Thanks so much!

As safe as the world it takes place in. Caching itself doesn't make the world more dangerouse by it's existance.

 

The thing is You also would love this hunting searching activity. When you go out with your kid to find caches you will have many opportunities to be with your kid (and thereby they are safer) and have fun (and family fun isn't too shabby)

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