What could be better for a child than walking with a small backpack along mountain paths and admiring the unique landscapes with mum and dad? Imagine playing on the green meadow by the stream with your child or helping him/her feel important and grown-up, collecting firewood and making a fire with parents. A trip to the mountains with children is a great option for a family vacation, which will give unforgettable emotions and unite your family even more. When you are visiting Dominican with you family, you can use Honda rent car Santo Domingo.
Here is a list of important travel gear for a child:
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Survival vest
For water trips, where an emergency is possible at a site with fast waters, we recommend choosing a life jacket with positive buoyancy at the rate of at least 20% of the person’s weight. For example, for a child weighing 20 kg, a vest with a buoyancy of at least 40N (4 kg or 4 l volume) is required. For adults who, in the event of an accident, are able to actively engage in self-insurance, this ratio may be less.
A good vest for water trips must necessarily have:
- a crotch strap;
- reliable fasteners;
- one or two belts on the waist, stitched around the circumference of the vest;
- a headrest collar (desirable)
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Toddler Carrier
At the age of 1 to 3 years, the child still cannot walk well and for a long time, and this circumstance has for many years restrained parents, who want to actively relax and go hiking, without parting with their children. In recent years, pre-existing restrictions on the movement of active parents have been resolved thanks to the wide distribution of convenient travel backpack-carriers.
A distinctive feature of such backpacks are:
- the rigid frame of the backpack, to which the harness system and the child seat are attached;
- adjustable child seat height;
- suspension adjustment system;
- soft hip belt;
- Comfortable shoulder straps.
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Sleeping bag
After a busy day, filled with impressions, it is important for children to have a good rest and sleep. Children’s sleeping bag is simply necessary for the little tourist! You can take an adult sleeping bag, but then it will take up excess volume and the child (or you) will have to carry extra weight.
It is necessary to choose from sleeping bags for babies, sleeping bags for children up to 160 cm and for children, whose height is more than 160 cm. When choosing a sleeping bag, you should take into account that it should be at least 20 cm longer than a child’s height. All the characteristics of sleeping bags could be found at the sites of manufacturers and sellers of tourist equipment.
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Backpack
A child’s own backpack allows him or her to feel self-dependent, because of carrying part of the load, and this instills confidence that he or she is an equal participant in the hike.
Unfortunately, quite a few manufacturers of goods for outdoor activities are engaged in the release of clothing and tourist equipment for children. Basically, these are well-known foreign companies, which have long and well proven themselves in the outdoor goods market. In the range of hiking backpacks, there are models for small kids, for children of primary school age and for teenagers. For the convenience of choosing all the models of children backpacks, they could be divided by volume: for preschoolers, it is better to choose a backpack up to 10 liters, and for teenagers it makes sense to take a backpack of at least 20 liters.
Hiking with children – fears and doubts
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When should we start?
Most often, it is recommended to take children from the age of seven. They are already independent, have stronger immunity system, are ready to run and walk a lot in search of interesting and new. The main problem is to maintain the interest of the children in the hike, and to have time to answer all the questions, because there will be a lot of them. In some trips, you can take children, who are even younger, but here the presence of both parents and constant supervision are necessary.
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Is it dangerous?
Again, it all depends on age. For older – from 7 years and above – the main danger lies in the children’s restlessness. When the group overcomes a difficult part of the way, children instinctively feel the seriousness of the moment, so they become self-collected. Moreover, adults at such moments are as concentrated as possible and better look after their children.
However, on a prolonged halt or in a camp, when children start to get bored, and parents are relax – everything can happen. The main is not to let them close to the cliffs and make sure that they do not eat unknown berries. For young children there should be more careful supervision and care.
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Will it be hard for a child?
As practice shows, children often cope with treks even better than their parents do. Everything is new to them and everything is interesting, and it encourages children. However, they get tired faster than adults do, because they have less endurance. Therefore, halts should be done more often.
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Will it be hard for me?
You will have to carry a part of the child’s gear and food, and sometimes when he/she gets tired, it is necessary to carry the child. Of course, it is harder. Therefore, we advise you to go hiking with the children not alone in order to make it easier to distribute the load.
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Will the child communicate with someone?
Usually, several families attend such children’s trips, so you and your child will not be bored. While the kids play aside, you can make friends with their parents.
A few more words about the equipment: it is clear to everyone that the better the equipment, the more comfortable you feel during the hike. Moreover, do not forget warm clothes and protection in case of rain! This will save you from many unpleasant moments. Speaking of raincoats: you can buy for a child an ordinary adult “mushroom picker raincoat” made of thick polyethylene (reusable), and cut off the sleeves and the hem. Such a raincoat will cover a child together with a backpack, which is very convenient.
