We had a very scary five minutes today while hiking back from Jockeybush Lake in the Adirondack Park, Gweny had asked to go ahead because her brother was lagging behind and being the dumb parent I said sure, while she got to far ahead and I shouted to her to wait up because I couldn't see her, assuming she didn't hear and kept going so did Cain and I. Then we started to hear screams, I didn't think I could be so scared!, To avoid the mud Gwen went off the trail and some how ended way up in no where, luckily Cain and I heard her scream and stopped to find her, I shudder when I think of what could of happened if we were to far away, so I ran screaming for her to keep yelling, I thought she was hurt and ended up traveling back quite a ways before I found her, very scared and quite willing not to leave my side for the rest of the journey...BUT from now on all of us will have whistles when we go out on hikes, because you never know.....hope my 5 minutes of terror can help someone else out! Catherine

I'm so sorry that this had to happen, but rest easy you have given me a idea for a stocking stuffer this year. Big, Loud, Tin Whistles.

your friend in LBing,
Kim

As long as they stay in the LB bag and not in the bedroom to annoy big brothers LOL Thanks though...

So glad everything turned out ok.

Meem

Every parent's worst nightmare. Glad yours turned out all right. Good idea about the whistles too.

Mama Bear

"from now on all of us will have whistles when we go out on hikes..."

When we travel with our pebbles, each child carries a whistle, a snack, and their own bottle of water, right down to the 4 yr old. They also travel as buddies, a big with a little. I feel a bit better with them slipping ahead this way.

S&P

I'm so glad to hear that everything turned out okay. I do completely understand your fear, as both of my boys have a tendancy to run up the trail. Fortunately for me (and them), I know my children and their tendancies, so I usually insist they dress in something I can spot quicky...bright orange, bright yellow t-shirt or something like that. I also tell them they have to stay in FRONT of me (they often get distracted, and suddenly will be FAR behind if I allowed it) and within my sight. If at any time, I can't 'see' the shirt, we do the ol' military count off....I shout out 'count off' and I am "One", Grouchy Ladybug is "Seven" (his age) and Mixed up Chameleon is "Five" (his age). Then, I can issue whatever instructions are necessary.

That way, it's just a quick check to insure everyone's within sight/hearing distance.

Hope this helps.

Jenni P McD

We do the same thing with the brightly colored clothes...works great at parks, playgrounds and airports too. Much easier to spot them. We were out boxing yesterday making our way down a trecherous hill and the much more nimble 7 yr old is WAY ahead of me. I kept yelling for him and still could see him. Then of course he is shouting directions to me....go left...under that branch...see me...right over here...

at least i knew where he was.

That's a cute story!

It's so funny how they say..See me right here.

I also have blaze orange stocking caps they wear when we hike in the woods or on the trail in the fall/winter. This is good for mama spotting, as well as possible hunters. Not that I intentionally send my children to be moving targets (no matter how much they misbehave at times! :-P), but you just never know what 'they' might be doing/thinking. I always prefer to err on the side of caution.

JPMcD

We were out a few weeks ago and the park we were in was next to a shooting range. We heard gunshots. Hubby and I freaked out a little, kids were somewhat oblivious. We convinced them it was thunder. Which set off a totally different fear....being in the woods during a thunderstorm. hmmm given the choice...considering we were all wearing dark clothes that day. Thats when I said from now on we wear bright colored clothes if we are tramping around the woods this time of year.

Whistles are a good idea too....mine would drive me nuts with them though. But to keep them from wandering away and getting lost....the hug a tree and blow your whistle is a great way of them staying still.

Whistles ARE a good idea.....unless you're talking about my children. lol

Luckily for us, most of the trails we've been using/on have been marked with paint blazes, so we use them as markers/counters. And, At times, I say..."okay, go to the next yellow and stop". It's never more than a couple of hundred feet away, and I can keep that blaze orange in sight. So far, they're pretty good about staying at the marker until I get there. Of course, there'a going to come a time when one decides to venture forth, but I guess I cross that bridge when I get to it. Perhaps expandable leashes? :-P

JP McD

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And, At times, I say..."okay, go to the next yellow and stop".

That's what we do with my youngest. Sometimes he goes through the forest like flash gordon, racing to the next blaze, standing (but not, of course, standing still!) until he can see me again, then racing on ahead. I figured at least he can learn to look for blazes and stay on the trail.

Both of my kids know they are supposed to stay on the trail and in sight. If they can't see me, they know to stay put and let us catch up. They are pretty good about it, too, but the whistle is a good idea. Hopefully they are now old enough to understand it's just for emergencies.

(I have a photo of my youngest when he was about four... we were on vacation in New Mexico, having driven a long day and finally arrived at a National Park for a short visit. In the photo he is pointing way off into the distance, toward the highway, holding his whistle. He was insisting to me that he heard sirens, therefore there must be an emergency, so he should definitely be allowed to blow the whistle.)

MoonBunny

While hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park with my husband and another couple we witnessed a similar scare. We had reached the top of Flat Top and were resting. Several other groups were around as well. We all notice a boy, 10 years or so walking down the trail. We said hi, but he said nothing and kept walking. At least 20 minutes later a man, came along, huffing because he and been rushing and asked everyone he saw if we had seen his son. They had allowed him to go ahead and he then got to far away and never stopped to wait. We had all seen him of course, but had not paid attention to what trail he had taken. Soon the Mom and older girl arrived, they had fallen way behind. We all looked, some had binoculars. But could not see him. We asked everyone on the trail. The mom ran down the most obvious trail while the dad and daughter waited and continue to ask those who past. Only one person had a cell (this was before everyone had one). I think they did get through to a ranger, but it took awhile before they could find any one with the number. The weather was starting to turn and this kid only had ss shirt, shorts, tennis shoes and a small water bottle. We on the other hand had packs with food and coats. The mom was able to catch up with her son, she must have ran the whole way. He had just continued walking and was not tired so did not stop. They were so lucky. We all made it down before the storm set in. Good lesson for all of us. Being a mom now I would have quized that kid before he got out of my sight.

We have started using walkie-talkies with ours and being in scouting they are good about being buddy's with a sibling.
SS

This is why we are getting a Letterboxing Border Collie!
Stacy

Oooh, will it have a letterboxing name? That could be Fun to think up!!

~HP~

Great idea, will have to add that to my list...whistles, bright orange caps :0)

See, I thought Gwen knew to stay on the trail that was clearly marked, but she got confused when she stepped off to avoid some mud and ended up way out of her way....so I'm not sure that I will even let her go to the next sign on those types of trails anymore...not that she will want to anytime soon either though!

Well...that could happen to adults! lol...just this past weekend, I got off the trail, and MUC, my 5 year old, says, "Mommie, that is NOT the path. You are wrong."

I had to laugh at him, because he was right, and I was wrong.

On these trails, they're pretty well kept, even though they're natural hiking trails, so it is easy to stay on them. Also, there are very few social trails leading off, which helps.

This past weekend, both boys were wearing blaze orange knit stocking caps, and that helped A LOT!

Mine are 6 and 3, so they are not allowed to go to the next blaze without a parent. If hubby is with us, he leads, and the kids stay between us. If it's just me and the kids, they stay single file ( pushing and shoving ) ahead of me. They usually don't wander too far ahead. I don't think they are comfortable with the woods and stuff yet. We do alot of drive-bys when hubby isn't with us. Safer for us all!

moonshowr

There is nooo way my kids are alowed out of my sight. Well, maybe that's because of the dangers of the bears and moose here.

Alaska HSM

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There is nooo way my kids are alowed out of my sight

I don't know about you guys but this is just the oppisite of how I grew up. ( I agree with Alaska HSM and every one else out there, I dont let my kids to far from my site) But I remember not have that much parent involment when I grew up and camping and hiking. (maybe they were hoping to lose there children back then, not talking about me I was an angel then and now)

Mystic Dreamer

I don't know how old the rest of y'all are, but I'm 43 and growing up in The Valley (California) in the 60s, we had the run of the land from sunup to sundown. We climbed the small mountain (okay, big hill) behind our house and built forts, hunted lizards and snakes, we even walked to the canyon (a couple miles away) when we were a little older.

The thought of my 6 yr old daughter even playing outside, in front of our apartment, alone terrifies me. Last week, I had a sprained foot and I stood outside by my car. I told my daughter to take the dog to across the drive to let the dog do his doo. She took off around the building to the tennis courts (that's where all the kids play). I didn't have my crutches with me. I yelled (how country is that) for her, she didn't come. It was horrible. I was so mad at her. She couldn't understand what she did wrong. She probably won't understand until she has her own children.

I actually feel sorry for my children. I wish they could have the carefree life I had. Letterboxing would've been awesome back then. But, we didn't even have computers back then.

Janet, Blooming Flowers

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I don't know about you guys but this is just the oppisite of how I grew up. ( I agree with Alaska HSM and every one else out there, I dont let my kids to far from my site) But I remember not have that much parent involment when I grew up and camping and hiking. (maybe they were hoping to lose there children back then, not talking about me I was an angel then and now)

Mystic Dreamer

No, you misunderstand. If I lived any where else, it would not be such a huge issue, but with where I live, there is always the possiblity of getting trampled by a moose or mauled by a bear. You are always safer in numbers.

Alaska HSM

I'm 31, and I grew up the same way! Of course, I did live on military bases, but.....I was allowed to walk over to my friends houses at night, go to the movies with just a couple of friends, play in the woods behind our house, etc.

Now, it saddens me to know that my kids will never know that kind of childhood. My son walked away from us at Wally World one night, and I almost had a heart attack!!! We try not to freak them out about strangers, we don't want them to not be sociable, but whoo! And ever since that little boy got taken from the K-Mart in town a couple of years ago, it's worse for me!

moonshowr

Its amazing we survived childhood....how many of you rode your bike with no helmets, jumped on a trampoline without a net, drank from a garden hose, left the house after breakfast and didnt come home till dinner....then back out again till dark or later, if a good game of flashlight tag was in the works....I am so sad that the kids these days are so sheltered. That our world has become so that we have shelter them. I think thats one reason that our kids are so much sicker than we were....we are so over antibacteria-ing (hows that for a new word) them. Come on, we played in the dirt, ate lunch with whatever we could scrape up, oh my gosh, did we forget to wash our hands, thats ok...just wipe them on your jeans.

My one yr old daughter got away from me for about 30 seconds in a walmart a few years ago...my heart never pounded so hard. Though I have to say I was less than pleased about the employees on the floor in their lack of help in finding her. A call to the manager was quick to follow.

Its become a sad scary world out there and its really hard to find the balance of how to teach them to be careful without them being overly scared of it all.

"We try not to freak them out about strangers, we don't want them to not be sociable"

I saw a comic that once said..."every good friend was once a stranger" We are the same way....want them to be friendly and sociable....but.....

:-)
vicki

As a kid, we roamed freely up and down the block. From age 4 onward, every parent with a porch was to be obeyed and we listened for the hollar for dinner. At about age 12, we opened out into being allowed to wander within the square mile defined by our major streets. This was also about the age when we started to be allowed to go hiking solo in the local forested areas. When we hit high school, we were allowed prearranged check-in times and it was assumed we wouldn't travel further than we could bike in about an hour or so.

I can't IMAGINE allowing my children that sort of freedom and it hurts.

I live urban, so the rules are probably different beyond the city, but if I can't see my child then they've gone too far. My 16 year old is allowed to travel solo, but only because he has a cell phone. The 14 year old has to stick to his brother until I can come up with another phone, even though he's in high school.

Last year, my daughter was in public school. In the course of the school year, there were four posted notices of identified stranger alerts (folks that had attempted a snatch nearby) and one missing child. Even though we live only six blocks from the school, one of us met her each day to walk home. Nine years old, and I can't let her walk six blocks, even though she is SUCH a good girl!

Aww, Man, I loved Flashlight Tag! And Bike Tag....did anyone ever play that? Or Big Wheel Demolition Derby!!! Whoo, talk about violent, I'm surprised I didn't get hurt more often!

Oh my Gosh!! Talk about a complaint letter to Wal-Mart! I'm usually pretty patient with people, but if something has happened with my kids....watch out!

moonshowr

Glad to hear one of my favorite boxers is safe and sound....

LW PhD

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Its amazing we survived childhood

I am so sad that the kids these days are so sheltered. That our world has become so that we have shelter them.

Amen.
I've been following this thread, (can you hear me nodding?) and totally agree. I feel sorry for how sheltered I keep my kids. We live 3 houses down from the park and they are not allowed to be there by themselves. I think it's tragic.

I can't remember who shared the original story but Thank You! It's been a great reminder and there have been some good suggestions made for keeping our kiddies safe. You can't do too good a job at that.

K