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Gcing With Small Children


georgiadawn

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Just wondering if oithers do it. I have two young buys (almost 5 and 9 months.) I'm so new to this that I don't have a GPSr yet (my birthday is coming up!) I'm wondering about baby backpacks (atre they worth it and if so what brand do you recommend,) tips and tricks on doing it easy with little ones, how to get them hooked on it like I am so far! LOL!

 

Anyone take the little ones or do you plan your GCing around babysitters?

 

TIA~Dawn

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I've taken my young ones a couple times. Took my 1 year old and my 3 year old along on one, just carried the youngest into the woods. The others i took them on were urbans.

 

I took my 3 year old with me into the woods on a couple more....He had a blast, but after a while he got tired, so I cut the trip a little short.

 

We're taking a trip next week and plan on caching with both, and we'll probably cary them into the woods if need be.

 

To sum all that rambling up, i just plan the caches accordingly.

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I have two young buys (almost 5 and 9 months.)

So, how much did you pay for them? The buys, I mean? :blink::blink:

 

I think it might be a lot like caching with my 76 year-old father (except that he's out of diapers), you choose your caches carefully, and save the better ones for babysitter days. We have a couple of 4 & 6 year-old friends we take occasionally, and we just choose what they can handle. Mosquitoes were a big problem for them.

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I cache all the time with my 3 daughters who are 8 yrs., 4 yrs. & 19 months. Sometimes hubby comes, sometimes he doesn't. When it is just me and the girls we do easy caches that don't involve a lot of in the woods or alone in the middle of nowhere hikes. My kids love it and look forward to caching. Of course the baby doesn't quite understand what we are doing, but she still enjoys being outside.

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The TSRORexx Crew are 5 and 3 years. I've found that Terrain of 3 or higher is more than they can handle. Many of the terrain 2's I wouldn't try if there's a significant distance to walk as you'll inevitably be carrying more than a GPSr.

 

As for your youngest, a child backpack is a necessity. The more you pay, the more comfortable they are and more stable they are when you set the pack down to crouch and poke around the bushes. I cannot remember the brand my buddy uses for his two year old when he's fishing/geo-caching, but it's quite the set-up and very durable. I'd say, eBay it! ::smirk::

 

As other posters have stated, you may want to stick to the parks and other urban locales when the kids are in tow (Terrain 1) and leave the more arduous caches for when the kids are with the grandparents/sitter/friends.

 

Happy caching!

Edited by TSRORexx
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We cache with our 2 boys (2 and 4 yrs old) all the time in all types of terrain (we don't have much over a 3 for terrain around here though). We use a Kelty Kids Carrier for long tough hikes and a wagon for shorter hikes. A hiking staff helps a lot with the pack - helps you keep your balance and helps to poke around for the cache. Be sure to bring snacks and water if it's hot out and the kids will have a blast. Check out our gallery and you'll see what I mean.

 

Team Tillery's Profile

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Anyone take the little ones or do you plan your GCing around babysitters?

 

TIA~Dawn

:blink: But of course...

 

When we started last year my kids were 7 and 3 years of age. They have gone on most of the cache trips and runs we make. Of course the 5 terrain ones get them left behind on occation or when I make a midnight/two AM run..

 

Our son at the age of seven was able to make it to the top of Picacho Peak. This impressed and scared the snot out of me. We had very watchful people both above and below him at all times during the difficult parts, but for us the whole point of geocaching was to find a nice sport that the entire family could love and enjoy.

 

The Cow Spots is another Tucson cacher that takes his two year old on most of his outtings as well.

 

We, he and I, met through geocaching and have formed a very strong friendship.

 

Family and fun is what this game is about in the humble opinion I hold. Bring the little ones every chance you can. I have taken our daughter up and down many of the mountain trails sitting on my shoulders.. Just last weekend we did Canyon View cache and I humped it with her on my back almost the entire way up and down.

 

If you look through our gallery you will find many more pictures of the kids then of myself and thats the way it should be.

 

Our 7 year old actually won a FTF prize at an event down in Sierra Vista recently and he still talks about being able to outfind all the other kids.. Yep he had the GPSr and he made the find. All I did was walk behind him and laugh ..

 

You have no idea how strong of a bond this sport has helped to build with my children...

 

Take the kids.. Take the kids.. :blink:

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Our 3 year old has been on many 3 mile, 1000' elevation gain hikes, all on his own, without being carried. Our young one was only 4 month old when we started. When they are really little, put them in a carrier on your belly. Once they can suppport their head VERY well, put them on your back. Kelty makes the best carriers. I recomend the sun shade.

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I took my 4 year old on our first find today and he loved it. Well didn't enjoy the pricky weeds, but loved going on the treasure hunt! We are used to going on hikes and such, so the walking doesn't bug him too much. We bring water and snacks to keep them fueled, plus it helps when they get bored of walking, lol. The little one you have, go to the store and try on backpacks. We used an Evenflo Trailblazer for both our kids and loved it! Was lightweight, cheaper and held up with the kids.

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My 4.5 yr old loves "treasure hunting" and I am currently carrying the newest member of the team in utero! I will start out with the sling or baby bjorn I used last time and I have a Kelty backpack for over 6 month of age. My daughter likes to find the cache and pick out a prize so its easy to motivate her and I just have to keep her from falling off a cliff or into a creek :laughing: .

 

Enjoy it!

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P.S. We started out with a cheapy backpack from a second hand store and I really killed my back and my husband wouldn't use it - it wouldn't fit over his shoulders. I bought the Kelty Back Country Backpacker off of ebay and this is a great carrier. Very padded and we used it until our daughter was 25 lbs at least. I have it put away for round two coming up real soon!

 

I think its worth the money for the padding, straps and even distribution of weight that the Kelty provides. It comes with a sun shade too.

 

Good Luck!

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We take our daughter who is 17 months old out. She loves to cache and plunders :laughing: it when it is first open trying to decide what she should trade for. We take an item for her to trade and an item for us to trade. She walks most of the way on the easy caches and either rides in wagon or on her daddy's shoulders for the harder or longer stuff. We make it a family affair including grandparents and some of our 4H club members.

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My kids are 6 & 8 and love looking in and around places for the cache box. They are great for those caches that require crawling under or around hiding spaces where I would look suspicious but nobody thinks twice about what they are doing.

 

When they were the age of your kids we tapered back on our hiking after trying a few backpack carriers and went with the jogging stroller.

 

For us Caching is primarily a family event.

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I have taken my children lots of times, they are now 6 and 4 but my 4 year old son has gone with me since he was 2 1/2.

 

I never used a child backpack for geocaching (he was too big by then) but we bought a cheap (meaning 60 bucks) model for normal use and the straps pretty much sucked. If I had it to do again I'd definitely buy a Kelty they are absolutely worth the money.

 

But kids love caching, just not too many in one day, you have balance your desire for "just one more" with the whininess of the child which will ruin your good time trying to geocache.

 

Good Luck.

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We bring our son, Cooper (2 1/2 y/o) with us on just about every cache we do. I carry him in a backpack and it has not limited the degree of difficulty at all. We have taken him on 1/1's through 5/5's and chalk it up to finally finding a comfortable backpack for both of us.

 

We use the Deuter 'Kangaroo' backpack now. We had been through a few others but the frame either dug in to Cooper or me. One of them bruised his legs pretty bad. The one we use now does not have a frame and very much resembles a standard school-type backpack. I'm sure there are other comfortable backpacks out there but this one has been fantastic and we highly reccomend it.

 

For us, Geocaching has been a family activity from the start. We usually all head out together. My wife is pregnant now, so she has not felt up to it lately but when the baby is born we will probably get a 2nd Deuter backpack and hike as a (larger) family again.

 

See pic of my son in the backpack below. Hope this helps.

e5058765-70d4-4573-a45b-0fbaec69780b.jpg

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Well I don't have children but the children I babysit for I take with me they just turned 4 and 5. They love it. I do alot of caches with them, and take them on all of them that I have planned for the day. I usually try not to do anything with a terrain rating of a 3 3.5 star or higher though. They even like a little minor bushwhacking. I just remind them that they shouldn't touch any leaves or anything with thorns. I don't take them by myself though. Usually they come with me when I am caching with my "ma" or with their mother and father. They also enjoy the longer walks. Sometimes the youngest is a bit slower but that is ok. Everything works out fine. they like looking and trying to find it before we do. and sometimes thery come in handy. One of the caches that we did recently "ma" and myself couldn't reach it. so we hoisted te oldest up asked her if she seen in and she reached and got it for us. They like taking pennies from the caches we always place something in for them. They say if there are any pennies in there we should grab them and save them for the girls.

 

This fall when we are caching they will be in hunter orange. They are always protected with us and never leave our sight. Just be sure that you have plenty of bug spray and hunter orange if needed and a first aide kit bringing with you. we also give them a whistle just incase they wonder off and we don't see it and they cant find us. they blow their whistle. That has never happened and I pray that it doesn't it is just a precaution.

 

I don't have any experience in caching with anyone younger than 3 though so ... I hope that some if this might help you :laughing:

 

Awsome Ev-

the amish geocacher

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We have six kids and I've used several backpacks. For shorter hikes with a low terrain quota a simple backpack like a Gerry might suit yourself, anything over an hour or two or rough terrain might require something more comfortable. We had a Kelty that we loved, but someone stole it out of our car. The Kelty has superb padding and comfort, but can be a bit bulky for urban stuff and everyday stuff like grocery shopping. If anyone has a Kelty that they no longer use I would be interested in purchasing it. Just email.

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I've been bringing my son with me since he turned 2. He's about to turn 3 soon. It can be a lot of work. Sometimes he just gets tired on long hikes, then I have to carry him.

I don't know how you'll fare with 2 kids. :blink: And sometimes your kid will decide at the worst time that enough is enough and you'll end up hiking out 3/4 of a mile with less than 1,000 left to the cache.

 

He is to the point now, where if the weather isn't hot he can go for up to 2 miles without being carried. I will bring him to caches with a terrain rating of up to 3.5 I always bring plenty of Gatorade and water and snacks with carbs.

 

One of the joys of bringing my son is that it forces me to make frequent stops. We pick berries, check out views, catch frogs, and of course, kids caching make the best pictures.

 

He shocks me every time we go caching. He knows a lot more about how the game is played than I would have imagined. And you would think that he would be all about the swag, but often he tells me to leave the toys for the "other kids". He's all about the find, so once I locate the cache, I call him over and give him the thrill of finding it. I also let him rehide it (though I generally have to fix it a little after he puts it back.)

 

My son actually prefers finding benchmarks over caches. Now when he sees anything round set in concrete (like those water caps or manhole covers) he gets excited, "a benchmarket Daddy!".

 

When we don't go caching, I'll take a pencil box, fill it with a few toys and a logbook and hide it in the bushes or under the stairs or in the yard and let him find it. I even have a broken GPSr from work that gets every screen and functions normally except it won't actually aquire satellites. This is HIS GPSr. The bad news is, at the tender age of 2, he knows how to turn on a GPSr and change screens so I have to worry about having him delete important waypoints if he gets my GPSr.

 

It's tough sometimes, but geocaching with my son has been one of the best experiences of my life.

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We cache with our three kids 7, 5, and 4. They do pretty good and just got their own caching backpack to carry. The biggest thing is how quickly the 4yr old get's tired out. In every caching picture I have the 4 year old has her face scrunched up and pouty. Of course there was the day that she found her dolphin sunglasses in a cache, she has worn them ever since. Any way you cut it, it's an adventure.

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I recomend getting a sling like a Maya Wrap instead of the usual baby carrier pack. With a Maya Wrap you can carry newborns to toddlers in front, toddlers and up on your hip or on your back. It is the most versitile carrier and only takes up a tiny bit of room when not in use. You can carry it in your diaper bag. Have fun.

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I recomend getting a sling like a Maya Wrap instead of the usual baby carrier pack. With a Maya Wrap you can carry newborns to toddlers in front, toddlers and up on your hip or on your back. It is the most versitile carrier and only takes up a tiny bit of room when not in use. You can carry it in your diaper bag. Have fun.

We use both. I (Boo) have a backpack carrier with an attachable bag that works pretty well. Kitty has several slings similar to maya wraps, for different times of year. I've never tried the sling, and would probably find it a bit awkward. Kitty on the other hand doesn't care for the backpack carrier. This may be one of those male/female comfort things.

 

At any rate, our two kids are 3 years and 21 months. We started caching about a year and a half ago. Have not had any real problems, although the logistics of getting ready to go can sometimes be daunting.

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I recomend getting a sling like a Maya Wrap instead of the usual baby carrier pack.  With a Maya Wrap you can carry newborns to toddlers in front, toddlers and up on your hip or on your back.  It is the most versitile carrier and only takes up a tiny bit of room when not in use.  You can carry it in your diaper bag.  Have fun.

We use both. I (Boo) have a backpack carrier with an attachable bag that works pretty well. Kitty has several slings similar to maya wraps, for different times of year. I've never tried the sling, and would probably find it a bit awkward. Kitty on the other hand doesn't care for the backpack carrier. This may be one of those male/female comfort things.

 

At any rate, our two kids are 3 years and 21 months. We started caching about a year and a half ago. Have not had any real problems, although the logistics of getting ready to go can sometimes be daunting.

Male/female thing exactly. Using a sling comfortably does take a bit of practice but once you get the hang of them they are much more versitile. But I know it is easier for a female to hip carry a child due to us having hips we can use like a shelf lol. By the way, I don't recomend carrying kids on your hips for long distances. I carried my daughter most of this little 2 mile hike in Denali and boy was I sore the next day. I imagine she was too. Wish I had had my sling with me. I could have slung her on my back. http://photobucket.com/albums/v40/1stimest...ay%2031%202004/

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I have taken friends with small children, <3years and have had a great time. The key is to either, as you suggested, carry the child in a pack on longer caches, or limit your caches to <1mile round trip. Obviously that depends on the usual amount of walking your children do. Another friend of mine took his 4year old on a 3+ mile walk, and he did fabulously. His mother has been hiking with him since he was able to wear shoes. I work in the Outdoor industry, and a word of advice on the pack, Get what is comfortable with your child in it. They are mostly of similar quality, and you will outgrow them before they wear out.

Edited by Cwiggum
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