Survival School. For Kids!

[Grant Lamontagne]

Just read this article- pretty cool, almost makes me wish I had a kid to send to this school!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/the-risks-and-rewards-of-sending-kids-to-survival-camp/article30789490/

Def

[LoopCutter]

I wish I could go, I would even bring a couple grandkids 7 & 8 if required. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Aloha]

I think I can rustle up a few youngins myself  .  This is really a pretty brilliant idea.   

[Grant Lamontagne]

It seems like a good set of skills to have.  Whatever your kid ends up doing in life, the ability to assess the level of danger in something while seeing first hand the potential downsides, all while gaining confidence and decision making abilities in a place where there are no safety nets is going to come in handy for them.  These are skills that transfer to virtually any/every career path or walk of life.

Def

[Poncho65]

I would love my little girl to go to this but I can't even get her to play out in the yard for a few mins by herself

[Sea Monster]

I would love my little girl to go to this but I can't even get her to play out in the yard for a few mins by herself

I learned all the survival skills I needed from playing Super Mario and watching James Bond movies.

Being sensible and practically minded is not necessarily related to playing with a football in the yard. Don't get too wound up about how you "think" your kids should develop.

Are these camps a great deal different from Scouts? (Not that I'm against multiple organisations teaching the same skills, and they might be less controlled by the illuminati than scouts)

I support them in theory, but I stand by my "learn by living" type philosophy. I learned to camp by going camping with my parents, I learned to ride a bike from my older brother, and I learned to cook and clean because everyone pulled their weight in my parents house.

But, strokes for folks I suppose, if for whatever reasons you have you can't or don't want to do those things "in-house", it is good these camps and things are there to help teach semi-affluent middle class city dwelling kids life skills

 







TANGENT:

These little buggers all have smart phones anyway, they can look up fancy math equations and edible plant data faster than I can remember where I left my hat.

[Grant Lamontagne]

The problem is the parents these days don't know this stuff these days so they can't pass it on to their kids.

And while I agree in a large part with the phone issue, in a disaster situation, the Internet may not be available.  Those that survive will survive because they had the knowledge and not have to look it up.

That having been said, I agree with you on most things.  Kids these days have this knowledge available to them at most times, so they don't need to know the excessive details that we were forced to memorize.  They need to learn problem solving skills because facts, figures and dates are readily available.

Def

[Sea Monster]

The problem is the parents these days don't know this stuff these days so they can't pass it on to their kids.

Hmm. You might say the "problem" is that you don't need to know this stuff these days?

In fact, this stuff becomes an expensive hobby (we've discussed previously the pros and cons of "maintained" camping areas, fees etc)

So much of our life has engineered solutions - constant power, fresh water, prepared food. Everything is easy. (Hence our increased outrage when things get a bit more primal during disasters, or even relatively minor flooding and the like)

I know people who go off the deep end when there's not enough wireless bandwith to run their favourite youtube channels.


This arguably has benefits - longer lifespans due to better hygiene, can live further away from water sources or energy sources (uhh, trees), can live in hotter/colder areas with our air conditioning services, and cheaper more available food for everyone - more kids, more convenience, more fuel required, more houses required, etc etc.

Oh, now we are bored? Let's do "fire making" in the village green...


Okay, I'm starting to rant without any real conclusion or point to make, but if I didn't try to make a nice hearts and minds story about kids learning neat skills and playing in the autumn leaves into a doomsday cautionary tale about the fate of humanity, then I wouldn't be doing my job.

[LoopCutter]

If I read the story correctly, the first major objective of these camps whether in a rural or urban setting, is to teach kids confidence in their own abilities and step outside boundaries. 
The other education comes as  by product of gaining confidence in themselves. 

Seeing a child freeze, start screaming or crying when rumble of thunder is heard from miles away make me really wonder what they have been taught.
My grand kids know, let's head for home, as they give me no problems about heading toward the truck or taking direction about what to do for assurance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Aloha]

If I read the story correctly, the first major objective of these camps whether in a rural or urban setting, is to teach kids confidence in their own abilities and step outside boundaries. 
The other education comes as  by product of gaining confidence in themselves. 

Seeing a child freeze, start screaming or crying when rumble of thunder is heard from miles away make me really wonder what they have been taught.
My grand kids know, let's head for home, as they give me no problems about heading toward the truck or taking direction about what to do for assurance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Pretty much how I see it as well.   Be it scouts, team sports, debate club, whatever it may be there is a benefit in addition to what parents/family teach.  I know many value "learning on the go" however wheres the harm or disadvantage to some prior confidence boost?  Many of the skills learned go beyond the obvious. 

There are also a lot of single parents from single parents who may have not have had other opportunities from which to gain experience from.  I hear a lot of folks taking about how Grandpa taught me this or thought me that.  Uncles, aunts, or extended family members adding a wealth of information onto the next generation is great.  What about those who don't have this extended family?

I guess it depends on what the kid takes away from this "training" rather than the "skill".     

[Sea Monster]

There are also a lot of single parents

Envy them - they can have a rotating roster of influential trainers and mentors from all walks of life moving through the child's life

 

[Poncho65]

There are also a lot of single parents

Envy them - they can have a rotating roster of influential trainers and mentors from all walks of life moving through the child's life