Families who cache together

[+FourFunKiwis]

Hi Team!

FourFunKiwis is made up of a Mum, Dad, two kids, and the token (trackable) family dog.

 

Our children are only 4 & 6, and so to share an account makes absolute sense. We often go out without the children as well though, for meetings or date nights etc, stopping at caches along the way.

 

Our 6yr old is passionately obbsessive about geocaching. She's a massive CITO advocate, and carries bags, gloves, and hand santatizer. She won't let anyone have a proper look until she's finished with the cleaning up. If they can swap swag they most certainly do, it's definately part of the appeal for them, but even when nothing is of interest both kids bulk it up for the next families to come across.

 

So, what happens when the kids want their own accounts? How do different people handle different miles within the same 'team'? Should a just grab an extra couple of travelbugs and assign each one to a child so they can log their own miles? Any ideas on how to handle it greatly appreciated.

 

It'd be kinda cool to see it designed so that little 'subaccounts' can be added to the parents accounts, for the kids, so we can keep an eye on them, and then split 'em off when they're of an appropriate age. Any internet account for these guys at this age seems a little daft.

 

Enlighten me!

[+T.D.M.22]

Make them their own accounts. I'd say do it now and log caches for them, until they're old enough to do it on their own. There's kids who have accounts, so it's not unheard of. There's even dogs with their own accounts.

 

Edit to add: I say do it now, only because it's easier to log caches than it is to wait a few years, and hundreds of funds, to then have to backlog a hundred caches.

Edited January 20, 2015 by T.D.M.22

[+doc73]

When I started in 06 I had a join account with my now wife. That is fine, but when our daughter was born we made her an account for just her. This way I hope she will continue to do this even when she no longer finds it "cool" to be out with mom and dad.I though of slitting my wife and I's account so we could both keep are own finds but at 270 some finds it would just be too impractical IMO. I will not make that mistake with the little one.

[+WarNinjas]

Make them there own account! I cache with my daughter and she loves it and is now old enough to do it on her own. I cache a lot during the week without her. We have over 3500 finds now so it would be impossible to recall what ones she was at. I think it also takes a little bit of her interest out as she don't get to add to the stats if she is there it just goes into our shared account. For the record I have been at all finds besides one she found out with her friends one day. She has expressed interest in her own account but now it would be impossible to figure out.

[+speakers-corner]

I agree, sign them up with their own accounts. As you have said, you go caching with or without them, they dont see the number of caches they have found. I created an account for our grandchildren and they log their own finds when they come caching with us or are out with their parents.

[+Titus Adduxas]

.......and a lot of the fun is in the logging as well.

Definitely get their own accounts!

[+lowca]

.I though of slitting my wife and I's account so we could both keep are own finds but at 270 some finds it would just be too impractical IMO.

 

Split account now, before it get 2700 hits

 

I've started separated accounts for my kids as soon as they have shown interest in being on their own.

[RuideAlmeida]

Please take notice of Terms of Use Agreement.

 

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[+dprovan]

I'm going to go against the grain and say they you shouldn't create an account for them, but when they want their own account, they can create it for themselves. For sure, if you are going to write their logs, then don't bother.

 

I have this attitude because I also have another unpopular opinion: how many finds are logged on line as your personal count is not that important. Even though your 6-year-old is really into it, she's still geocaching as part of the family, and I think that's how it should be logged. When she gets old enough to geocache on her own with her own account, that will be a new adventure, and it's appropriate that the caches logged to her personal account will not include the ones she visited as part of your family. She will be in a position to go revisit and claim finds on previous caches, perhaps mentioning in her log she visited this with her family however many years ago, if she wants.

 

If you focus on creating an account so she can have "credit" for visiting all the caches the family finds, you going over to the side of thinking the numbers are the only things that matter. Better to continue focusing on the experience and using the numbers only to accurately reflect the experiences, so celebrating the family finds as one count and then her "grown up" finds as a second count.

[+FourFunKiwis]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts

In light of the T & C's, I won't split the accounts. I may instead just get personal travel bugs, incase they do want to hang on to their earlier finds - although dprovan you raise some good points.

[+cerberus1]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts

In light of the T & C's, I won't split the accounts. I may instead just get personal travel bugs, incase they do want to hang on to their earlier finds - although dprovan you raise some good points.

We know one locally who does that.

Not knowing if the kids would even be interested when they're older, they use the TBs to record hides they were at.

I'd bet that six logs on each hide had a little to do with it too.

Have fun and cache safe.

[+thecaswellfamily]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts

In light of the T & C's, I won't split the accounts. I may instead just get personal travel bugs, incase they do want to hang on to their earlier finds - although dprovan you raise some good points.

We know one locally who does that.

Not knowing if the kids would even be interested when they're older, they use the TBs to record hides they were at.

I'd bet that six logs on each hide had a little to do with it too.

Have fun and cache safe.

 

We also have gone with personal TBs, and for us it has worked out great! The girls got TB necklaces featuring northwest native art for Christmas a few years back, and I took the time to backlog which caches they'd been to up to that point. Now we just "dip" the bugs for whoever is along for a particular find. Our oldest did finally sign up for her own account, and loves signing her geocaching name to the physical logs but she almost never logs online (she does occasionally log on to see the miles/caches on her TB though).

[+WarNinjas]

I'm going to go against the grain and say they you shouldn't create an account for them, but when they want their own account, they can create it for themselves. For sure, if you are going to write their logs, then don't bother.

 

I have this attitude because I also have another unpopular opinion: how many finds are logged on line as your personal count is not that important. Even though your 6-year-old is really into it, she's still geocaching as part of the family, and I think that's how it should be logged. When she gets old enough to geocache on her own with her own account, that will be a new adventure, and it's appropriate that the caches logged to her personal account will not include the ones she visited as part of your family. She will be in a position to go revisit and claim finds on previous caches, perhaps mentioning in her log she visited this with her family however many years ago, if she wants.

 

If you focus on creating an account so she can have "credit" for visiting all the caches the family finds, you going over to the side of thinking the numbers are the only things that matter. Better to continue focusing on the experience and using the numbers only to accurately reflect the experiences, so celebrating the family finds as one count and then her "grown up" finds as a second count.

Dang! That was well said right there! I will have to show it to my daughter. She is in it for the adventure. I just thought having the caches she has actually found would be cool but you made a great point!