a reply to:
jude11
This occupies my thoughts regularly. I'm grateful to be out of the stage where I have babies in diapers.
Train your children,not in the militaristic sense, but teach them how to be a self sufficient human being. My almost four year old son is already an
outdoorsman, he's also an avid fisherman. He's obviously not alone out there, but he has already picked up invaluable skills in his young life. My
almost nine year old son is becoming proficient outdoors. He can start a fire with a steel and magnesium stick, he can confidently identify edible
berries and a few other edibles and he even caught his first halibut this year entirely by himself.
Now on to the fact that they are little kids, and noisy over confident boys at that. My youngest has the problem of over confidence at three. During
the spring when the local mama bear woke up he had to stay inside more when I was too busy to be out there with the boys. He went and found a stick
and says " mama, it's okay, I'll take care of that bear for you." The scary part is that he was serious, so we had our "the bear will eat you"
conversation. He is rambunctious and loud, he's a sweetheart, but all boy. My eight year old is very capable, but a dreamer type who has serious
focus issues. Following directions is a problem, and that causes issues if you are trying to bug out.
We are set up to stay home if possible during any emergency, but are capable of leaving fast if needed. It's much easier to stay home if possible
with young ones. Keeping them warm, fed and quiet are difficult otherwise. If you are planning on bugging out with little kids make sure you have some
things to occupy them with, as well as some sort of comfort item. Get them involved too, if they have some say on what goes into their bag then they
take ownership of it and the idea behind it. I'm not talking about frivolous things either, letting them pick which fleece blanket or what pairs of
socks they would like to add in helps.
Kids can be a help and a hindrance all in one fell swoop. I have seen a small herd of kids produce a respectable pile of firewood in a matter of
minutes. I have also watched them polish off enough food to feed my family for a week. We are lucky to still have wild resources around us and I'm
confident that we could provide for a group of people with a group of people.
Other people will end up being vital. We can't hunker down in our basements forever. We need to be able to protect ourselves, but we should also
remember what it is to be human. Enough people have turned into animals. I know it's not possible for people to stock enough food for multiple
families, but together we can make more food than I can by myself. Those single mothers that you mentioned will be welcome here. Everyone who shows up
on my doorstep will have a chance to prove their worth, but I will not turn away hungry kids. Just like I would never turn away my elderly neighbors.
Everyone has value regardless of age, sex, race or creed. People are resilient and can adapt. Children are the best adapters that we have. They are
our link to a brighter future.
Let's start teaching our kids to love and be aware of the world instead of pigeon holing them into a box. Let's counteract the inhumanity of
children holding severed heads and teach our children to be that counter measure of light. Let's also arm them with the abilities to protect
themselves and think for themselves. Maybe we can guide them to be the answer to some of the world's issues, without hate and death.
Sorry if I'm rambling. Like I said this occupies my mind a lot, and your OP asks a lot. It's not simple if you have little ones to take care of.
Every child, regardless of when or where they are brought into the world, deserves to be brought up safe, loved and educated. My heart cries daily for
the little ones in the midst of the turmoil right now. I honestly wish I could shelter them all. I know it's about as irrational as hoping they all
die for their own good.
No matter what happens, we will continue to strive to be good human beings first and foremost. We will help when and where we can. We will continue to
learn and grow, and I will feed every hungry munchkin I can get my hands on.