how young is to young?

[sycomix]

my son is 3 and loves to go to the park with me anyway, you think 3 is to young to take him caching?

[+WRITE SHOP ROBERT]

Nope, not too young, as long as you are by his side. Many players have even younger kids along. There are some considerations though, like opening the container yourself, before him. Other players will soon chime in who have more experience(Caching with Kids) than me though

[+StarBrand]

I thought my 5 month old in a chest carrier was having a good time...............

[+rollinginthecache]

It'd be my opinion that you should use discretion - as when caching without a child.

Just keep in mind, will people look at you funny if you're wandering in a bush with a 3 year old? I know that, hypothetically, if I saw that, I'd call the authorities! That would not only be a tad embarrassing to explain, but would also compromise the cache!

But as said in the first reply, caching is suitable for any age.

[sycomix]

well then i know what jr. and i are up to next sunday, he loves the park anyway.

[+niraD]

Just keep in mind, will people look at you funny if you're wandering in a bush with a 3 year old? I know that, hypothetically, if I saw that, I'd call the authorities!

Are you serious?

 

The geocaching parents I know have said exactly the opposite. A lone adult looking under a bush or park bench looks a lot more suspicious than a child looking under a bush or park bench, or an adult and child looking under a bush or park bench together.

[+moparots]

Just keep in mind, will people look at you funny if you're wandering in a bush with a 3 year old? I know that, hypothetically, if I saw that, I'd call the authorities!

Are you serious?

 

The geocaching parents I know have said exactly the opposite. A lone adult looking under a bush or park bench looks a lot more suspicious than a child looking under a bush or park bench, or an adult and child looking under a bush or park bench together.

 

I think anyone crawling around looking in a bush is going to look weird, no matter who they are man, woman,child.

 

Just last week I had my 5 year old with me, I was signing the log and trading some swag for her, and she had dosed off in her car seat. Someone drove by us on this lonely dirt road and really eyeballed me, I wondered what they must have thought, because it did look strange. A 40 something yearold man parked on a dirt road with a passed out kid in the truck.

[Family Stealth]

We've been taking our kids since the first one was 2 months old. We lugged him around in the car seat. He is now 15 months and his brother is 2 months and we take them both out.

[+Alkhalikoi]

I've been taking my almost-5.5 year old caching for almost a year. If you are hiking on trails, you need to exercise the normal caution you do when you take a kid on a hike: give him a whistle, teach him to stay put no matter how long it takes if he gets separated, get him his own backpack with his own water/snacks, teach him not to stick his hands where he can't see.

 

Other than that, my experience is that it's much easier to look for urban/park caches with a little kid in tow than doing it solo. As above, a 5 year old poking around the underside of a park bench mostly removes any suspicion. The only time I have gotten much of a look was a week ago when I pulled off I-5 for GCM8WB and the boy wanted to take a direct assault on the hill on the side of the road and I figured I'd let him. A guy slowed down to try to figure out what I was doing, but we waved and the fellow moved on.

 

The only reason not to take your kids caching is if you are easily humiliated by their ability to find micros when you are staring slack-jawed at that pinecone for the fourth time.

[+TheMayfieldFamily]

have to put my 2 cents in on this subject

 

My 8 year always goes with me caching...... on weekends its normally just her and I but when we go out on weekdays either during school hours or after my 2 year daughter is with me..... i have had more looks being out on the rare occasion that im by myself then when i have one of the girls with me. When you have the kiddos you can go walking through the woods, down trails, down back road alleys or whatever and most people will be under the impression that you are just out for a walk with you child.... just smile or wave and act like you know what you are doing and where you are going.

 

but on that note do use discretion.. stay with some easier bigger containers as well as watching where you and he are going (i know this is common sense but just have to put this in) my 8 year is pretty good about watching for holes, dips, and drop offs but obviously i have to watch where the lil one is going and what she is doing... we dont do any of the creek bank caches when she is with us and the like.....

 

take him and have fun is my opinion better then him sitting in the house watching tv all day =)

[+CaptCosmic]

Having been caching with my 5 and 6 year olds for the last 6 months, my biggest advice is to stick to caches that are large enough for them to trade swag. My kids lose interest in the hunt fairly quickly, so larger caches that they can more easily spot that contain toys and stuff they can trade for really keeps them interested.

[+bluedoberman]

I take my 4 and 7 year olds with me almost every time. They love it. They enjoy the urban hides the best. But, discretion is the key. IF the woods are pretty open, they are all into it. I have had a few that get really overgrown and that freaks mine out. Also, we once got attacked by some yellow jackets. We got hit pretty good due to inability to run through the overgrown thorns. It made for a bad trip and the kids did not go for a few weeks. So, make sure not to let the need to find the cache cloud your judgment. Also, they usually are not watching for snakes. So, remember to watch them closely.

Last, many caches are designed for children around your child's age. They are themed and placed just for kids.

Edited January 20, 2010 by bluedoberman

[+tomfuller & Quill]

I remember reading about Snoogans stopping on the way home from the hospital with the 2 day old Snooglet so that the kid could "find" the first cache. The Snoogstress was apparently OK with it.

[+nimma]

We've not long joined this great past time. We have a 5yo and an 8yo. Both love it, particularly when we go with their two mates (all are girls). Don't know of a better way to get kids going for a 6km walk in the bush (that's the Aussie bush) and not complain about it ... 5yo loves doing the swaps and we tend to choose larger easier caches for her. She also loves writing her name in the cache logs. I'm just starting to get the 8yo interested in the earthcaches and multi-caches by letting her work out the maths and find the clues. Must add, she also loves decoding the hints.

 

Must agree with others, having a kid around when you're searching through playgrounds, picnic areas etc is really useful ... if you get muggled, you can always say that they threw their ball or frisbee somewhere in the general vicinity that you are searching. Although we don't have one, I think taking the dogs along would provide the same type of camouflage.

 

As my 5yo daughter is saying constantly "gotta love it, mate"!

[crawil]

My only suggestion when caching with a child is to know when to call it quits. If the kid(s) is getting tired, cranky, hungry or whatever, you are done for the day.

[+popokiiti]

My only suggestion when caching with a child is to know when to call it quits. If the kid(s) is getting tired, cranky, hungry or whatever, you are done for the day.

My mantra too - and I am old enough to be their Grandma!!!!!

[+LeftCoastCachers]

My only suggestion when caching with a child is to know when to call it quits. If the kid(s) is getting tired, cranky, hungry or whatever, you are done for the day.

 

Exactly what I was going to say. We cache with our 4 1/2 year old and he loves the first cache of the day, is super excited about the second one (after getting to trade swag in the first) but by the third he can get bored and the fourth is usually a write off.

 

Stick to larger caches, let your little one trade, pack lots of snacks, do not go out near nap time and know when to give up and deal with a DNF if needed.

 

We live on Vancouver Island so seeing families wandering in the woods is really common, I've never worried about people looking at us strangely.

[+zurichuk]

My 4 year old absolutely loves it and I often take him along with me, my 3 year old is indifferent and the 6 month old really doesn't offer much of an opinion apart from the usual.

 

Actually been caching twice in the last month with all 3, and as long as there is somewhere to climb / play / explore at GZ and part of the excursion involves a special treat (i.e. chips or an ice cream) then they prefer to come with me than stay at home.

 

Never do more than 1 or 2 with them at a time though.

 

However on a plus side, I sometimes save certain caches for when I have the one of them with me as they are really good decoys.

[+debaere]

My son was a month old when we went caching together. Been several times since then, and he's still < 4 months. Of course at that age it means nothing to him, but its never too young to start instilling an adventuresome spirit in the boy.

 

It does affect the levels of caches I can attempt so I don't go out with him each time, but when I am going for the ones that allow me to bring the kid, the kid comes (and so does Mom for that matter)

Edited January 26, 2010 by debaere

[+Atropos3]

My 17 month old says Caching with a toddler is fine.

 

 

Fun, in fact, if he can find things like cattails to make a huge mess with. Joy!

 

I recently made a post on this subject that got some replies you may find useful:

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=239716&hl=

 

Good luck!

[+Renegade Knight]

my son is 3 and loves to go to the park with me anyway, you think 3 is to young to take him caching?

Nope. He's having fun, your having fun, what's not to love? Kids do have limits, so if you are ready to call it a day when the time comes, or pack them out if the hike's a bit too long, your good.

Edited January 26, 2010 by Renegade Knight

[+Renegade Knight]

Having been caching with my 5 and 6 year olds for the last 6 months, my biggest advice is to stick to caches that are large enough for them to trade swag. My kids lose interest in the hunt fairly quickly, so larger caches that they can more easily spot that contain toys and stuff they can trade for really keeps them interested.

 

This has proven true for my entire family including my wife.

[ibeforej]

We just start geocaching today and my 3yr old loved looking at the "treasure". Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there are any containers larger than a micro near us, so I'm definitely going to try to branch out a bit and find some with some good swag.

[katesmomga]

...The only reason not to take your kids caching is if you are easily humiliated by their ability to find micros when you are staring slack-jawed at that pinecone for the fourth time.

 

Oh my gosh, I nearly fell out of my chair laughing so hard at this! It is the TRUTH! My 8-year-old daughter has found stuff I would have missed! We have fun together and when she gets whiny because a find is taking too long, we call it off. I love the whistle idea and will implement that immediately.

[+akfuzzydice]

My daughter is 3 . We go out together and call it "Looking for treasure". We even went and hid some treasure together.... She has fun, and I bring her treasure from caches on occasion when I go by myself.

Kids ARE a great cover, we went to the park and played on the equipment for a while, then went for a walk. To the unsuspecting muggle, that's all we did.