A statement (or question?!)  I am greeted with alot!

Yes, I do!

Hiking alone as an adult might seem daunting itself, so hauling your kids might seem like an impossible task. But honestly its worth it. Kids have more stamina, grit, durability, and determination than we give them credit for!

I don’t have any secrets. I honestly believe kids love to be outside and can achieve more than we think. However, its not always easy when you’re first starting out, when kids are young or if you are pushing up more challenging routes.

My kids are 10, 8 and 6 and hiking with them is very different to hiking alone or with adult companions. They do require work, patience and occasionally motivation. Its not the peaceful tranquil time in nature that I’m often looking for when I hike alone!

But, I have a few tactics that I do think work: Being a role model, involving them, distraction, motivation, fuel and reward.

Role model and involve them!

The thing about kids is, they want to be part of whatever you are doing and are passionate about. The more I hike and the more I talk about it, the more they want to share the journey and experience. I also try to involve them in the planning – looking at the route, what area is it in, what can we expect to see. Building a bit of anticipation.

Although hiking is MY passion, its also something we all love to do as a family.  Its not all we do at weekends, but its one of our favoured ways of spending quality time together. Unplugged, in nature and connected together.

But let me prepare you. Despite any initial enthusiasm…….they will still flag. Probably a few times. And usually early on. They’ll moan too! It doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t want to do it. In that moment they are tired or fed up. They need some encouragement when its getting tough…..we all do!

 I have a number of tactics I have at hand here.

Distraction!

Looking around us at the nature and exploring it as we pass, paying attention to our senses. We sometimes play a game or even singing a song. I see this as investment, and the older they get and more hikes we do, the less I have to invest in distraction. They do it themselves.

Motivation!

Talk about the trail, where are you up to, what are the challenging bits, how great they are doing.

On a recent hike, my youngest was flagging close to the summit. She’d come a long way, was tired and had decided she wanted to go down. So, my husband hung back with her, and I went a minute ahead with my kids. We all stood in a line and chanted her name as she slowly walked forwarded in a tired slump, before reaching a cheer as she passed! You could see in her face the joy, pride and pleasure from this. The ‘I’ve got this’ mentality kicked in and she jogged on ahead to the summit, feeling amazing for making it!

Its very easy to get impatient with their complaints – because they will come. And I do sometimes find myself feeling grouchy myself. But, acknowledging their feelings and recognising their achievement often ignites their own motivation to carry on.

Its well known, for both children and adults, that when we push ourselves just slightly beyond our skill level or comfort zone, we learn at a fast rate and have personal growth. Skills, resilience & confidence are all being nurtured.

Food/snacks and treats.

Always, always carry a stash of handy snacks – nuts, crackers, dried fruit to graze on to keep them going and keep spirits up. Maybe its only my kids, but I swear they are governed by their belies! Don’t feel bad for handing out sweets too, they are well earnt. Generally we don’t eat many sweet treats at home, but on a hike they are good for giving that quick burst of energy and also providing kids with that boost of morale! It’s a worthwhile trade.

Reward!

Generally, I’m not big on rewards and tend to avoid reward schemes for school and home life. However, we have somehow acquired a tradition when it comes to hiking of collecting the mountain badges for each of the mountains they hike.

To them it’s a lovely badge of honour. They enjoy picking it out at the mountain and then showing friends, family and teachers and talking about their adventure.

I see it more of a memory, but its certainly an added bonus which my kids look forward to and appreciate!

Pushing On!

Sometimes, when we really just need to keep going / can’t go back….. I’ll Push on. Sometimes there are just those moments. These are usually the ‘we are practically there’ moments, so they are short lived and quickly followed by the reward of summit and rest. But, even these moments are important. They are learning determination, grit and endurance. That they can go on, achieve what they thought they couldn’t.

On another recent hike, my middle daughter ‘hit a wall’ about a third into our ascent. She felt tired and just didn’t want to do the rest. She said she felt she couldn’t make it. We went through distraction, motivation and finally snacks. We carried on, although she was still only 50% invested. We talked as we walked for a while, played a game and within 15 minutes she was back bounding ahead of her siblings.

Back at the bottom of the mountain soaked wet, aching muscles and big smiles, I reflected with her on that moment. She replied, ‘yeah, I saw how I got passed that and got new energy’. ‘Actually, I felt a bit like that on the way down, but I remembered how it passed before, so I knew I could do it!’.

What reflection, learning and self-belief just happened in that moment!

I was so proud of my daughter and that moment. But, please let me bring a dash of reality here. This is not always how it is. We do have complaints and sometimes tears. There have been hikes I’ve needed a holiday after! There have been interesting hikes and boring ones. There’s been good weather and bad. There’s been good planning, and also poor. There have been moments when I have questioned what and why. BUT, they all bring learning, experience, adventure, connection and memories. There are many moments I wanted the earth to swallow me up….. but these are memories and moments that we will recall together and laugh about forever!!

Its ok to go back!

Its really important to emphasis this too though! Despite all the tactics I’ll have up my sleeve to keep spirits and energy high, I’m always ready to turn around and go back when needed.

There could be a number of reasons – maybe the trail was harder than I thought, maybe the kids had a late night and are just too tired, maybe the weather took a turn for the worse and we are not prepared. Sometimes the vibe is just not right.

There is a balance between keeping your kids going when its still fun and dips are short-lived. But if its not fun, its not worth it.

I’ve turned back, changed routes or shortened a hike on a number occasions for a number of reasons. They appreciate this and know that we can collectively make choices about going back.

So, where do you go from here?

Don’t over think it. Just do it.

Have faith in yourself and your kids.

Pick something easy to start.

Don’t be put off by the complaints of tired legs. Just go armed with snacks and enthusiasm.

Don’t be hard on yourself when you or they want to give up!

Cheer and celebrate the achievement.

Then do it again!

Make your memories whether they feel successful or disastrous at the time!

I’ve put together a list of easy achievable hikes in and around the Miura Peninsula.  I’ve done all of these with my kids. They are all easy to reach, easy to follow and kids friendly. You can read about these here.

I will also be writing up some of my more recent hikes with my kids at Mizugakiyama and Happo-Ike/Karamatsu.

If you would like to read more about our adventures and our routes, sign up for notifications to my blog here.