Keep youngsters entertained

[400bull]

Last year was my first year I took more then one of my youngsters with me out hunting mule deer and elk. Although I enjoyed every minute that I was out with them it did not take long before I released that I need to have more items stuffed in my pack to keep them all entertained while I sat and watched hill sides in the mornings and evenings. I'm looking for ideas and suggestion that I can do for this years hunt to help keep the kids entertained while we're out hunting. So what are some of the things you do with your youngster to help them enjoy the hunt as much as you do?

400bull

 

[Deerlove]

I hate to say it, but Ipod, psp, etc. This stuff works in the car at least. LOL Try taking a 22 pistol in not game areas.

 

[marley]

My 8 year old son brings his pistol BB gun and he shoots anything and everything all day long. He has a blast and it keeps him out of my hair while I glass.

 

[stanley]

Ditto on the electronics for the car ride!! ;-) Also, my kids enjoy reading books quite a lot. I always make sure we pack a few books for them in the car.

As for when you're 'in the field' a small paper back book is good. I also make sure they have a small pocket knife for widdling(sp) on sticks & such while sitting/glassing when they get a little bored. I'm also finally this year getting set-up with an extra tri-pod/binos.

Good luck!

S.

 

[ttj]

As previously posted, the bb gun is always a hit. Hotwheels cars and trucks, sticker books and the always dependable crayons with a hunting coloring book available at sportsmans warehouse. I try to keep the electronics to a minimum but videos and games downloaded on my phone work well.

 

[trevriv]

I parked the truck on the highest peak and let my son do facebook on my blackberry for about 20 minutes.

 

[Silentstalker]

One thing a friend of mine used recently that was a big hit was a sling shot. Kept his son entertained for hours. Also great hand eye coordination too.

My son and daughters love to go hunting with me, we typically take their DSS's with headphones and or books etc they can read. They really love glassing with my older sets of Binoc's too. They also love snacks and drinks. Keep them fed and entertained, and they will really enjoy it!

Good luck to you. Your kids will love it forever if you can keep them from getting bored.

 

[400bull]

These are all great suggestions. I did not even think about putting a coloring book in the backpack. Much like othres have said I try to keep the electronics to a minimum. But when all else fails I'll pull out the GPS and let he them play a couple games that I have loaded on it.

One thing that I was thinking about trying this year wondering what you guys though about it is getting the kids a pair of binos to do their own glassing with. To help keep them excited about glassing I'm going to offer them something small (a mini candy bare or a quarter) for locating a doe/cow but if they can locate a buck/bull I would pay them a buck or something along that lines. My thinking is that this would reward them for taking the time to glass them up as well as benifit me in being able to glass the entire mountain more effectivly. So what do you think? What would you use as a reward for locating critters?

400bull

 

[bigfoot llamas]

LAST EDITED ON Sep-03-09 AT 09:05AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Sep-03-09 AT 09:04?AM (MST)

I spent 14 hours straight with my son 13 and my two daughters who are 10 and 7 in a ground blind. We had a blast playing card games (old maid and crazy eights mostly), crossword puzzles and my girls would color. We would just do each until we got tired of them and then do something else. At some points we were laughing so hard I was sure that we would not see anything. We ended up seeing a couple of nice bucks a doe and her twin fawns and a herd of elk that came in to water. The funny thing was that small birds would fly in and out of the blind and would just totally freak out my girls as the birds would panic and try to find their way out. Something we will always remember.

 

[nickman]

Your vet has these pills that they give to dogs that are going to be traveling for a long time, on airlines or in cars.........they dissolve really well in a can of Pepsi.

Tell him the animals weight and he will give you the proper dosage.

It dosen't really knock them out but you will never know that they are there.