Hunting With Kids: Top Priorities

One key component of the seminar I gave on Hunting With Kids was something I actually added after giving the presentation three times.

Following my talk Saturday afternoon, a few members of the audience hung around to ask some questions.

"What do you think are the three most important things when it comes to hunting with kids?" one lady asked me.

"Well," I said.  That's what I always say when I need a moment to think about my answer to a question.

"I don't mean to put you on the spot," the lady said.  But that by then I had an answer for her.

"Be safe, be ethical and have fun," I said.

I was pretty happy with that answer, but the person who'd asked the question looked a little puzzled.

"What do you think are the most important things?' I asked her.

"Keeping them warm has got to be one of them," she said.

"That's part of 'have fun,'" I replied.  "You can't have much fun if you're cold."

It occurred to me then that I hadn't mentioned anything in my presentation about bringing snacks and something to drink for the kids.  But I guess that falls into the "have fun" category as well; and keeping them warm and making sure they have something to eat and drink are also part of keeping them safe.

The more I thought about it, the more confident I became that anything that could be said about hunting with kids, or hunting in general, would fall into at least one, and often two or three, of those three areas.  Be safe; be ethical; have fun; and following any one of these rules is dependent on following the other two.

Because to hunt ethically you have to hunt safely.  Hunting unsafely or unethically may seem fun at first, but in the long run doing either will ruin the hunting experience. Then it won't be any fun at all.

I incorporated these points into my presentation after that Saturday afternoon conversation.  They will also be included in the version I publish as a series here, beginning tomorrow.

What do you think are the three most important things to take into account when hunting with kids?

Comments

[Babar]

Knowing nothing about hunting (except what I've learned from this blog), I would say the 3 most important things when hunting with kids: safety, safety, and safety. And teaching the kids how to stay safe themselves!

[Kristine Shreve]

I like your three. I think they cover most of the issues that may come up very well.

[Frank]

The three answers you gave were perfect. Keeping it fun and safe are two things that most parents need to really focus on.

[Arthur]

I hate to be redundant here Matt, but I would have to say that your three cover all the aspects of a child having a good time in the woods.

[Rudy]

Matt,
I just located you blog via the OBS. Ironically, I have a blog with a similar focus and reside in NOVA as well.

We should catchup to share ideas.

To this post the children of today, need to rely on us to teach and show them the ways of conservation. This will allow their children to see what the "outdoors" is and means.

Great Blog!

Rudy