Poll: Will Your Children Grow Up To Hate Adventure Travel?
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- by Mark Stephens on Mon Aug 22, 2011 - (13) Comments
In April, my wife, Brooke, and I hosted a discussion-presentation on family adventure travel at Overland Expo, and if there's anything that I learned from that, it's everyone has their own wildly varied concerns when it comes to adventure-travel and everyone is different. My absolute favorite came from a young mom with a baby just a few months old who, right away, wanted to dive into how the hell to fix her husband - it was cute and good humored, rest assured. But obviously there was a hint of truth to it. Sure, she enjoyed hiking and camping, that wasn't a problem. Her husband, she feared, hit the metaphorical throttle much too hard when he took their little one out on trips. He had no qualm about trekking hard all day, getting to camp late, cooking less-than-stellar meals, getting up early and doing it all over again. This worried her and she laid it down, "I'm afraid he's going to make her hate this stuff when she gets older."
She has a point. That's an uneasiness I too have about what the future holds. Though I think we're pretty balanced in our house. As in my daughter (who's 4 years old) dresses up as a princess nearly everyday at home but goes bonkers-wild at the mere utterance of the word "camping." It's a balance of extremes for sure, but a balance nonetheless, good person. Another friend of ours once said she has stricken camping from her life's ambitions for good, that her family did it all the time when she was younger and therefore she's spent enough of her time outdoors. It's not that the trips were hardcore, it's just that she felt that she'd endured enough bugs and cold nights in her life. Fair enough. I think it's quite understandable.
This is almost a nature-versus-nurture type of question. Will the kids who grow up adventure traveling with their parents also grow up to dislike it? Can we ruin our kids on this stuff, or will they just grow up to become who they become? I ask because we, as in you and I, do believe that this is good stuff for our spawn, right? Maybe not superior to other things in life, but it's just something we're trying to teach is a good thing. Do you ever wonder if your love of the outdoors or travel or dirt roads or surf or singletrack or moonlit desert canyons just won't ignite inside your next generation the way it does in you?
Let's narrow this down to one question, yes or no: Are you concerned that your kids may dislike outdoor adventure when they get older? (the poll is anonymous, and feel free to elaborate on your stance in the comments)
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On an entirely different note...I started Skeenit.com, which sells a product that's perfect for parents who have rambunctious kids. SKEEN is tough carpet protection that makes parenting easier. :)
Great post and and keep it up,
Osborne,
www.SkeenIt.com
- relaxed, not frenzied
- Chloe has so much freedom, to play in the dirt, collect things, blow bubbles . . . you don't stifle her with "don't get dirty" or "don't touch that" (well, unless it has fangs I guess)
So I think this translates to happiness. Freedom = happiness for all of us at the most basic level. Happiness = happy campers.
Now that is soooo cool, Roseann. Thank you.
We'd have a lot of work (far too much work) if we behaved with the "don't get dirty" thing. Yikes. FAR TOO MUCH WORK.
www.woodsfamily.cc/blog/?p=39
Before our son was born my wife and I averaged once a month camping trips, and I'd go more if I could convince my wife. Anyway our son is now 3 weeks old and I've already planned our first camping trip for October. I think that if it's done right, and it's fun, and you aren't forcing them to enjoy it they'll probably love it when they get older too.
I'm okay with that. My job is to give them the best life I can, and then let them make their own life choices.
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