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When to Start Doing Outdoor Activities With Your Kids

11/11/2020

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When we had our first kid, we didn't have a good roadmap of when we could start doing outdoor activities with kids. Many times I felt like we were winging it and also that we were pushing to do it faster than society suggests. We've been lucky to meet many people over the years who also took their babies on outdoor adventures as we did. Here is a summary of what I wish we knew when we had our first kid - it's part of our General Advice page in the When to Start section.

Hiking:
  • Start hiking as soon as the birth mom’s body feels ready, and if she is nursing make sure she is comfortable nursing on the hike.
  • Ease into how much the birth mom carries over time, so consider starting off with the other parent carrying the baby first.
  • Look out for making sure the baby is warm enough and is covered from the sun.
  • Parents we have interviewed reported starting hiking when their babies were between 1 and 4 months old.

Camping:
  • Same as for hiking - wait for the birth mom’s body to feel ready and to be comfortable nursing on the go if she is nursing.
  • Go easy on yourself - if you are all having a really rough time sleeping, don’t feel you need to rush into camping. You will get there.
  • Parents we interviewed started camping when their babies were anywhere from 2 to 6 months old.

Backpacking:
  • We recommend starting backpacking after you have been hiking for a while and tried camping at least once.
  • Backpacking is easier the lighter your baby is. If you have a really heavy baby and don’t feel ready to backpack until your baby is 9-12 months old, you might end up not able to go backpacking until your child can walk.
  • We started backpacking when our kids were about 9 months old.

Biking:
  • The simplest answer is not to bike with your kid until they are one year old, since laws, bike helmet manufacturers, and most bike seat and trailer manufacturers don’t recommend it before then. 
  • Many people don’t feel it’s necessary to wait that long and will look for other options, and if this is you we suggest reading this post from RascalRides.
    • We started putting our kids in a trailer when they were 6 months old because we felt it was safe enough for us.
    • Look out for the baby's helmet pushing their head forwards into an unsafe position. We put a pillow or towel behind the kid to prevent that.
    • Some people put a baby car seat in the trailer, but consider that you probably can’t use a bike helmet with that and there may be laws requiring a helmet.
    • One of our interviewees, Corbin, rode with his son in a backpack when he was 6 months old and felt it was safer than a trailer

Skiing/Snowboarding:
  • Kids:
    • You can start kids playing with skis by putting them in strap-on cross-country skis to play in as soon as they can walk.
    • Most places don’t have ski lessons until 3 years old, but if you can find skis that fit your kid you can take them on the hill yourself when they are two.
  • Parents can’t get back to skiing together until they have childcare, but many parents take turns skiing with one parent staying in the lodge with the baby. You can start this as soon as the birth mom feels comfortable and is able to nurse well if that applies. The birth mom might also want to make sure that her ab muscles get back together before starting.

Cross-Country Skiing:
  • Start whenever you feel comfortable hiking with your baby and comfortable keeping your baby warm.
  • Consider which options you feel most comfortable doing with a small baby:
    • The Chariot trailer with ski attachments or a ski pulk put the baby farther away from you, which might be a concern if you’re worried about cold, but you don’t have to worry about falling down as much.
    • Baby backpacks or front baby carriers also work well, but you have to feel comfortable about the possibility of falling down.
  • Kids can start trying cross-country skiing as soon as they can walk, using the strap-on skis.

Climbing:
  • Parents:
    • We recommend starting hiking first and feeling comfortable with that and to be ready to carry more weight on the approach (or enlist friends to help).
    • Parents can climb as soon as the birth mom is feeling good and (especially) has their ab muscles back together.
    • You’ll also need to line up an extra adult unless you’re bouldering so there’s always someone looking after the baby.
  • Kids often can’t start climbing on a rope until they are at least 3 years old, since they are so short and don’t weigh much. 
    • Before then, consider letting them appreciate the joy of climbing by playing around on small boulders and jumping onto crash pads. 

Travel:
  • Travel with a baby can be fun to do as soon as the parents are comfortable with it and especially when people are sleeping well enough.
    • We traveled across the US with a 6-week-old baby and to Europe first when our second child was 6 months old, however, our babies both slept very well when they were young.
  • Travel with a baby, even international travel, can sometimes be easier than when they’re toddlers:
    • They can be in the bassinet on the plane if you get a bulkhead seat.
    • You can take them wherever you want and don’t have to cater to their preferences as much as for bigger kids.
  • To make it easier for them to adjust to the travel, bring a travel crib and stroller or baby carrier that they are used to sleeping in.
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How to take your baby backpacking

11/3/2019

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​Taking your baby on a backpacking trip is a great introduction to outdoor parenting. We took our daughter on her first backpacking trip when she was about 9 months old. It was only one night and just a two mile hike but we loved being able to give her the experience of being in the backcountry with us from an early age. Here are some of our tips on how to make it happen:
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Recommended age/weight for these trips:
  • Your baby should be small/light enough that you can carry him/her in a baby backpack and ideally with an extra 5 lbs of stuff**
  • Minimum age depends on your baby, weather, destination, and the comfort of the parent

Key equipment for parents:
  • Frame-pack style baby carrier with space under the baby to strap bulky but light stuff, such as one of the two below (we had an old REI carrier that is no longer made):
    • Deuter Kid Comfort 1 Child Carrier
    • Kelty Journey PerfectFIT Elite Child Carrier
  • Lightweight backpacking gear (especially tent, sleeping bags, pads)
    • Tip: a generous two person tent can work for two + baby and a three person can work for two adults and two kids for a while
    • ​This is where it's so worth it to spend the extra money for lightweight gear, because you have to carry so much extra stuff!
  • Nursing camisole/bra if nursing

Packing tips:
  • Have the person carrying the baby carry their water, snacks, and a diaper plus light but bulky stuff, such as sleeping pads, sleeping bags, or the tent
  • Strap these items under the baby.
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Safety:
  • Bring a first aid kid, and make sure to include any baby-specific versions of medicines you might need and fun bandaids
  • Consider getting Wilderness First Aid or Wilderness First Responder trained
    • I am WFR certified. Fortunately I haven't had to use the training on my family, but it is great peace of mind

Baby’s equipment:
  • Something warm for the baby to sleep in, such as a fleece sleep sack (instead of a sleeping bag for small babies)
    • Sleeping bags only worked with our kids at about 3 years because our kids moved too much and came out of them, but might work for others sooner
    • Other options: have the baby sleep in the parent's sleeping bag, or bring a crib size quilt
  • Fleece top or jacket to wear over the sleep sack
  • Hat/mittens if it’s chilly
  • Layers and backup clothes in case of diaper explosion
  • Diapers
  • Something to spread out under the kid during feeding time to catch food spills

Time of year/weather:
  • Not too cold
  • Not too rainy

Location:
  • Plan a short first trip (just 1-3 miles)
  • Find a location near water because kids love water, and plan a camping spot with options for side hikes

Tips to find locations:
  • Look for good day hikes that are only a few miles that allow backpacking

Hiking tips:
  • Take it slow, stop as needed to play and let the baby out
  • Bring some small toys attached to the baby carrier

Sleeping tips:
  • Be prepared that it might be hard to get your baby to sleep - it's a different bed and the parents are nearby (if they're not used to that)
  • Remember - it will get easier the more you do it, but it won't get easier if you don't do it! (more on this to come in another post)

How to handle multiple kids:
  • Have the bigger kids carry something, depending on their age/abilities (more to come about this in a later post)
  • ​At this point it's even more important to have lightweight gear! (The photo below was a 3 night trip)
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What are your tips for going backpacking with babies? Do you have any suggestions on good places to backpack with babies? Please share your feedback so we can make this page more helpful and comprehensive.

**Take your baby backpacking before you hit the “gap year(s)”! This is the time when the baby is too heavy to carry and too young to hike 2 miles a day.
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    OKH

    Two Silicon Valley engineers who have had a love of the outdoors since childhood. Parents of two small kids, spending our free time exploring the outdoors with them.

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