Family Friendly Caches??

[+CoronaKid]

I plan on searching for caches with my two young children. Is there a way to search for family friendly caches?

 

If not, has anyone ever thought of adding this feature? I think it would be a great addition to the site. You could have a forum dedicated to families, a separate page dedicated for family cache listings and searches.

 

I realize that caches are usually rated on difficulty and that most people just use these as an indicator, but I thought it might be fun to have caches designed specifically for families. What do you all think?

 

--CoronaKid

[+azmark]

Most all caches are family friendly. Just depends on the age of the kids. Pretty much from the start Geocaching it's been promoted as family friendly.

 

Older Hiking friendly kids can take on even the hardest of caches, but the 1/1 are mainly the best for the 6 and under crowd.

 

Just look at the description and the logs and you'll get a good idea how kid friendly it is.

[+Renegade Knight]

Use the difficulty rating as a guide.

 

Often people will say "this is not a place for kids" or some variation.

 

However if you are with your kids when you find a cache that isn't suitable, have them hang back. By and large most caches are placed by people who don't have a death wish and so kids can tag along.

 

My kids have been with me on well over 170 caches and most of them were fine (I have a thing about cliff edges for some reason). The few that weren't I had the kids stand away from the edge while looking.

 

Wherever you go there you are.

[+CoronaKid]

I guess I'll have to go on a few cache hunts with my kids to see how it works out. My idea or thought was more to create caches that were designed specifically for young kids 6 and under with kid friendly themes and games.

 

For example, I noticed a cache in the San Diego Wild Animal Park that has you figure out animal clues at waypoints all over the park to find the cache. I think this is a great idea that can be expanded to create a whole new style of caches.

 

--CoronaKid

[+MaxEntropy]

Not a bad idea, though I wouldn't create special categories or icons.

My boys cache with me. They are 8 and 10 and they've been on every hunt. I just read the ratings and the cache description and a few logs to make sure that it's going to be an OK place for them to be. I've kept driving by a couple of caches that looked like they were in a bad neighborhood and skipped a couple that had problems with homeless encampments. I don't feel that I can adequately protect them in those places.

However, perhaps putting a note on the cache page "Family Friendly Cache" similar to some that I've seen marked as "Handicapped Accessible" would be nice.

 

Mickey

Max Entropy

More than just a name, a lifestyle.

[+Markwell]

There are plenty of caches out there like this, but there's no specific "code" or attribute for "kid friendly" because that's such a subjective term.

 

My 7yo has hiked with me since my first find and is up to finding just about every cache I can - he's even got his own version of Geo-Force (the ability to sense where the cache would be hidden). My 3yo caches with me a lot, but on any terrain tougher than 2, he ends up riding my shoulders, which increases my terrain rating by at least 1 star.

 

Bottom line, find some caches, and if you're looking for caches specifically that are great for your kids, don't be afraid to e-mail the cache owners or the local group. California has a GREAT couple of local groups who would be more than willing to help out.

 

Markwell

Chicago Geocaching

[+Team Boogidy]

I take my 2 1/2 year old with me all the time. We have done a lot of one star terrain difficulty, but also quite a few 2.5s and a 3!

I've found that most of the caches I've found have been very kid friendly as far as content goes. Start with the easy ones and work your way up. It's a very family oriented pastime!

Have Fun.

Mama Boogidy

 

...Running over the same old ground, what have we found?...

[FullOn]

Again, as others have said, use the numbers as a guide. I've done most of the caches in the Corona area and if you need some suggestions, just drop me an email. Have fun!

 

"I thought you said this was a quick find!" - My wife