Hiking in the mountains with children - family tourism

Family hiking with children

The future of our children is in our hands. We, as adults and parents, always strive to give our children as much good and useful things as possible. And what could be better than a vacation in the mountains with children: walking with a small backpack along mountain trails and admiring the unique landscapes with your mom and dad? Or playing on a green lawn by a stream with your peers? Or to feel important and "grown up" by helping to collect firewood and make a fire on which marshmallows melt so quickly?

Hiking in the mountains with children is a great option for a family vacation that will give you unforgettable emotions and bring your family even closer together.

I went on my first real hike in the Carpathians when I was less than 9 years old (already an adult :-), and my sister was 7. I still have some memories of this family hike. I remember how I ate blueberries on the slopes of Temnatyk, how we ran up and down the mountain madly, how we carried small backpacks (I think I had 9 kg and my sister had 7. But I'm not sure :), how my father and I caught delicious trout, how we fried it in a cauldron, how we climbed to the top of Mount Stiy and walked among its domes. It's amazing, just a week of hiking, and so many pleasant memories for a lifetime...

Taras Pozdnyi, founder of the Kuluar Club

5 most important questions about hiking with children

1. From what age you can take children. We recommend taking children from 5 years old on our hikes. They are already quite independent, have a strong immune system, are ready to run and walk a lot in search of interesting and new things. The main thing is to keep your child's interest during the hike, to have time to answer all the questions and eat strawberries and blueberries, because there will be a lot of them. During the climbs and long walks on flat ground, sometimes children get bored. At such moments, teamleaders try to entertain them with games and stories. In some hikes, you can take younger children, but in this case, both parents need to be accompanied and constantly supervised.

   

2. Won't the child get bored? During the hike itself, not at all, and in the camp the leader takes out a variety of games from his magic backpack: uno, pencils and coloring paper, or, if everyone is active after the hike and full of energy, a Frisbee, ball or imagination will be used! Children have time to play a lot of outdoor games before bedtime and in the morning while packing, so don't worry about leisure time - they won't be bored!

   

3. Whether the child can handle it. As practice shows, children often cope with transitions better than their parents. Everything is new and interesting to them, and this charges them with unprecedented energy. All day long they can walk back and forth along the trail, asking adults about everything they see and telling their own stories, often invented on the go. Sometimes it is very interesting to listen to them, because children's imagination is not yet as constrained by the framework and norms as ours. Children get tired faster than adults because they have less endurance. Therefore, you need to take more frequent breaks. But they have much more energy, and the main thing is to keep them interested in what is happening and not to let them get bored.
4. Will I be able to do it? In an organized hike with a child, you will have to carry some of the things and food for them. Of course, it's harder. Therefore, we advise you to go to the mountains with children as a family to make it easier to distribute the load
   
5. Will I have someone to talk to? Usually, several families go on children's hikes, so it will be interesting for everyone; both children and adults. While the kids are playing nearby, you can meet their parents and make new friends.

Family tourism: benefits for parents

In a frantic industrial world, you don't always have time for the most important things - communication and leisure time with your kids. You disappear at work all day long, come home tired, and you don't always feel like listening to the eternal "why" and playing with your kids. But you should. After all, they grow up and take their cues from their parents. You can talk about how to live and what to do, but firstly, you need to be a living example and proof of your words. Otherwise, all your words are meaningless.

Hiking with children is where you will have enough time to communicate and opportunities to be a positive example. Children will look at you and simply repeat you. In a family hike, you can increase your authority in the eyes of your child and become a real role model for them.

Another important aspect is the curiosity of children, they look at the world differently than we do. And together with them, you will discover the mountains anew, because there are many small but beautiful things that you simply do not pay attention to, but your child will definitely notice!

And it's just a pity to deprive your children of almost the most beautiful thing in this world - travel and mountains.

Family hiking in the mountains: benefits for the child

Firstly, it is fascinating. Everything around is unusual and extraordinary. Here is a funny pebble that looks like a heart, here is a beautiful flower, and here is a fabulous tree of an unprecedented shape. It turns out that there are so many interesting things in our world, not just on laptop and computer monitors 🙂

It is useful. On a family tour in the Carpathians, children very quickly expand their horizons, learn a lot of new things, and do many things for the first time. This contributes to more intensive and proper development. After all, one of the main tasks of education is to set the right vector and instill the right priorities. By accustoming children to hiking and recreation in the mountains from an early age, we can almost certainly say that their lives will be rich, healthy and interesting.

It is educational and safe. On a family hike, children will learn from a very early age what a particular plant is called, what berries can and cannot be eaten, how to make a fire and set up a tent. We are sure that this knowledge will come in handy. All children are constantly under the supervision of adults, we conduct safety training, talk about poisonous plants, have a first aid kit and choose routes accessible to children (without extreme).

During the vacation in the Carpathians, children realize that not everything can be obtained by whims. No matter how much you ask, no matter how much you whine or are capricious, the rain will not stop, the sun will not come out, and the blue helicopter with popsicles will not arrive. But you can go ahead, put up a tent, light a fire, cook food, and feel perfect. Not only for you, but for everyone around you. And here you are, so small, but so good - because you helped adults make everyone feel good.