Involving Your Children in the Outdoors

Our children are our legacy. I have seen too many times that kids would rather sit inside with their heads plugged into some sort of technology. I remember when I was just a young lad running around outside – climbing trees, playing with sticks, throwing rocks and just being a little boy. The amount of dirt that was washed off of me as a child could probably build a pad for a home site.

Send the kids outside and show them things you use to play with as a kid. Let them drink from that garden hose. Involve them in your hunting and camping activities. Take them out to check that deer camera and get them to help clear that spot for your next food plot. Take them fishing. The memories will last a lifetime not only for you, but also for them.

My oldest son, who is actually my step-son, is now 5. He still tells me the story of walking around out in the field and picking blackberries by the bucket full. He had a kitten that followed us all over the field. He remembers it like it was yesterday and asks to do it again all the time. We’re waiting on the picking to get good so we can make more memories like that. I can also teach them how to scavenge for berries and plants, which is a dying talent. People don’t teach these kinds of things to the younger generation or the younger generation would rather plug in to the technology world. These are things that need to be passed down and taught just the same way some of us were taught.

Think back on some of the things that your parents taught you. Let’s see if we can teach the younger generation, our legacy, some of the things we find beneficial to life.

Photo: My youngest son (3 years old) holding a shed head I found while working in West Texas.

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