{"id":17236,"date":"2017-11-15T23:06:13","date_gmt":"2017-11-15T23:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=17236"},"modified":"2017-11-16T14:21:20","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T14:21:20","slug":"hiking-kids-top-12-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/hiking-kids-top-12-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiking with Kids – Top 12 Tips!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I thought it was about time I put together a little “Hiking with Kids post”, with a few tips from myself and a lot of inspiration from a few fellow travellers on how to ensure that you enjoy a memorable hike WITHOUT too much moaning along the way (from any member of your group!)…<\/p>\n

As always feel free to add your own tips to the comments…<\/p>\n

Let Children Help Pick the Route<\/strong> – Our children always help decide on certain aspects of all of our travels (how we ended up in the Cat Museum in Japan<\/a> probably, and definitely how we ended up in Berlin’s Currywurst Museum<\/a>!), so why shouldn’t we let them help decide on where to go hiking either?\u00a0 I recommend chucking your kids the guide books when you get to your destination, give them a difficulty level (ten year old’s are usually overly ambitious in my experience!), and on the day let them help with directions and the like (don’t rely on GPS, not everywhere on the planet has a signal!)…<\/p>\n

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Walking (\/poking) poles – not just for walking<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Proper Clothing<\/strong> – if you don’t have the right gear, you might as well expect a miserable day…\u00a0 Decent Hiking Shoes are a must, as is a seasonally appropriate jacket\/coat.\u00a0 Wear plenty of layers – there’s nothing worse than being too hot or too cold.\u00a0 Make sure whatever jacket you have is waterproof too for obvious reasons.\u00a0 \u00a0Talking of waterproof, pack a plastic bag in each of your pockets, it’s always nice to have somewhere dry to rest your bum for a few minutes (just make sure you take it back with you…).\u00a0 \u00a0You might scoff at the cost of hiking socks (especially for little feet that\u00a0 grow at a stupid rate), but they really help prevent blisters, and this in turn helps keep your stress levels to a minimum…<\/p>\n

Pack Energy Boosting Snacks<\/strong> – Perfect for blackmail material, and for keeping any and all energy levels up – stuff pockets full with cereal bars, fruit, nuts, chocolate, anything that will keep you popular as a parent, and might get you to the next hurdle…\u00a0 \u00a0I also recommend investing in something like a camelback water pack to keep everyone hydrated and to stop you personally from having to lug around gallons of water (like a camel)…<\/p>\n

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Baby Backpacks<\/strong> – Do your research – if you intend on lugging a toddler up a mountain on a long hike, it has to be comfortable for both them and for you, look for online recommendations, ask to borrow a friends before you invest, do a test run in a shop if they will let you…\u00a0 Look for ones that include sun\/rain shades too, plus little pockets for baby\/toddler necessities!<\/p>\n

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Encourage Budding Photographers<\/strong> – Give kids Cameras (making sure all batteries are full before you set out – cold weather drains batteries much quicker!!), or let them borrow one of yours (a much less loved camera perhaps!!).\u00a0 This will not only keep them quiet, it’s really lovely to see what they have taken at the end of your adventure (or perhaps not<\/a>!)…<\/p>\n

Distract with Games<\/strong> – you would be amazed at how engrossed children (and adults) can get if you suggest a game along the lines of my hastily thought up “spot the mushroom competition”… Be warned, this could lead to spontaneous sibling wrestling matches if you have competitive children like mine…\u00a0 Kept them quiet for around 3 hours though.\u00a0 Oh, and they both “won” in the end – which they actually fell for unbelievably!<\/p>\n

Do your History Research Beforehand<\/strong> – or even better, get them to do it.\u00a0 \u00a0Children take a lot more interest in their surroundings if they know a few interesting facts about the history and folklore of a place!<\/p>\n

Safety<\/strong> – Go through what to do in case of an emergency – not just something overly dramatic like someone falling down the mountain, but something slightly less serious like someone getting separated from the group.\u00a0 Believe me, this is hardly likely with my mountain helicopter parenting skills that tend to kick in, but just in case people, just in case… Look at the map for the closest open guest house and talk about how to find it to meet there in an emergency.\u00a0 It might sound obvious, but we always tend to go for the safest route with kids – I could tell you some horror stories about experienced friends that suddenly realised that they were most definitely out of their comfort zones up one mountain or another…<\/p>\n

Use Blackmail<\/strong> – Not in a horrible sense obviously – but in a “first one to get to such and such milestone gets this piece of gingerbread” kind of way.\u00a0 My favourite piece of Raphael Family blackmail to pluck out of our rule book is definitely “too much unnecessary moaning, and Mum gets to pick what you eat when we stop for lunch” – which, when it’s likely that there’s something like schnitzel and chips (a good case scenario!) on the menu is always guaranteed to get good results (works with adults too this tip!)…<\/p>\n

Check Where to Stop<\/strong> – Talking of places to stop for refreshments – do check where is actually open along the way.\u00a0 \u00a0Even in high season, variously places take turns with a ruhetag (a closed day!), and many are closed completely during the off season.\u00a0 There should be markers at the beginning of your route, but it’s best to know even before that (I have been known to call ahead before now!)…<\/p>\n

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First Aid<\/strong> – Make sure you have sunscreen (in the winter too!), plasters, antihistamine, pain killers, inhalers, gin in a tin<\/del>\u00a0, and a pack of wet wipes in case of a scrape or two – all the kind of things you will be kicking yourself if you are half way up a mountain and somebody urgently needs one thing or the other…<\/p>\n

An Open Mind<\/strong> – if this kind of hiking is new to you, my advice would be to keep an open mind.\u00a0 \u00a0You might be taking a few more risks than you would in the gentler climes of the English countryside, but typically, these are the days that you will remember for the rest of your lives, as will your children , and for all the right reasons hopefully…<\/p>\n

So, no matter how many steep inclines you have in front of you, remember that you will look back on it all fondly one day, no matter how much your legs are killing you, your back feels like it needs to be reconstructed, and your children are shouting about who has the most points in any “spot the” anything competition….<\/p>\n

But, just look at that view!!!<\/p>\n

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If you want to investigate a few more Austrian\/Bavarian Hikes of ours – do check out “Of Marbles and Waterfalls – Hiking The Alpbachklamm<\/a>“; The TeeHaus (a Hike to the Eagle’s Nest<\/a>); The Partnach Gorg<\/a>e; Autumn in Eibsee<\/a>; Troll Castles in Zillertal<\/a>, the hikes we enjoyed in Carinthia<\/a>, and our current most recent favourite hike along the Smaragd Weg in Halbachtal…<\/a><\/p>\n

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If you are looking for some family hiking inspiration from fellow bloggers a bit closer to home, then pop over to Trish from MumsGoneTo for a Scottish Hiking Post<\/a>\u00a0from Knockinaam to Portpatrick AND tales of a beautiful hike in Snowdonia<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0As the name might suggest, The HelpfulHiker<\/a> has plenty of helpful hiking tips for the whole family…\u00a0 \u00a0 Daislikethis has a beautiful Walking in the Malvern Hills<\/a> Post; FamilyAdventureProject suggests a Scottish John Muir Way Hike<\/a> (where you can discover the John Muir Award!); HaveKidsCanTravel has plenty of ideas for a Yorkshire Dales hike in February<\/a>; and finally Wander Mum ponders whether you can Hike the French Alps with a Three Year Old<\/a> (and a starving husband!)…\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Enjoy!<\/p>\n

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