Walking with kids
Drawing on her own experiences as a mum, Plas y Brenin instructor Helen Teasdale shares some advice, tips and hard-won lessons on how to go hiking with children
WHEN I BECAME A MUM I knew a new chapter of my life was about to begin. My husband Andy and I had enjoyed the hills and mountains recreationally and as professionals for many years, both before we met and as a couple. It’s our happy place and where we have built many wonderful memories.
It’s enabled us to build resilience, independence, decision making and self-reliance. What more would a parent want for their children? Going out into the mountains is an adventure, and having adventures as a family is incredibly powerful. It allows us to spend quality time together: we get to chat, explore and laugh a lot.
We started taking Ollie, my son, into the hills when he was old enough to fit into a child’s backpack at about six months old. He is now 13 and has just started a new hillwalking adventure with our family dog George, ticking off all the 2000ft-high hills in Snowdonia where we are incredibly fortunate to live.
Here I’m going to share a few lessons I’ve learned about going hiking and hillwalking with a child, at various stages of their growth and development.
Make it a positive experience
Motivation is the key, and half the battle. There are many ways to motivate children on mountain walks, and it will often depend on age. Kids need lots of gentle encouragement and plenty of time. The mountain journey needs to be realistic for the age of your child. You are the best judge of this as you will know your child better than anyone else. Good weather or good equipment will make it a much more enjoyable experience.
Taking a favourite soft toy to share the adventure and emotions a child might encounter throughout the mountain day may help. We always took the same teddy with us on all our family adventures when Ollie was young.
Playing games whilst walking and making the hike into an imaginative adventure was one of the key motivators. Treasure hunts, playing ‘I Spy’ and collecting things we found worked really well. Your only limitation is your imagination! Telling stories and pretending to be creators or favourite TV characters is also a good bet – I spent many a walk being one of the trains from Thomas the Tank Engine!
Ollie loved to carry his own backpack, choose what food to pack, and even bake delicious snacks to carry and eat along the way. Homemade chocolate brownies were always a winner. Carrying a pair of kids’ binoculars or a magnifying glass is a great way to engage young ones in nature too.
For older children, try including them in the planning of the day and navigating the journey while out on the hill. Teach them useful skills like reading maps, using a compass and timing different parts of the day so they can work out how long it will take to reach the summit.
Having a peak-bagging book or wall chart and ticking off all the peaks you have climbed can be a lot of fun – and very rewarding too.
Get the right carriers and clothing
Motivation is a really important part of taking kids hiking, but the ‘technical’ side of things – the clothing and equipment you use – is also vital.
We started using a backpack carrier when Ollie was six months old (this is the age the manufacturers recommend; the child must be able to sit up unaided).
A carrier will generally last until your child is about three years old, so they’re a great investment if you love to walk. I’d recommend one with lots of storage for carrying nappies, food, water and other essentials. As you and your child will be exposed to the elements, you must consider weatherproofing too. Some of the carriers come with rain covers and sunshades.
A child in a backpack is also very vulnerable to getting very cold. You will be using lots of energy and getting very
warm walking uphill, but a baby or toddler will be still, and need lots of warm clothing including hat and gloves. When Ollie could toddle, we would use the backpack, but he really enjoyed time out of it too. Having a backpack meant we could still do some reasonable-length days out, weather permitting – but the time did come when it was no longer feasible to carry Ollie, and his was when our walking and hill days became shorter for while.
Consider distances
An often-asked question is how far can, or should, young children walk. The answer of course depends on many factors, such as the athleticism of the child, the elevation, and the weather.
A good rule of thumb for a child of 3-6 years of age is about 3-5km. Once Ollie was over 6, it was feasible to walk further again, having some fantastic hill adventures.
When Ollie was aged 7, he walked up Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons. If a child is exposed to walking from a young age, they are more likely to take it in their stride. It’s not uncommon for children of 8 to be able to walk up Snowdon.
Stay safe
As a parent you are responsible for managing the risks involved in heading into the hills with your children. This requires the usual knowledge and competency you would need for yourself when hillwalking, but all the more so.
The most important part is to plan the day so that it is suitable for everybody involved. Ensure you look at a specific mountain weather forecast like those provided by the Met Office or the Mountain Weather Information Service and pack appropriately – these are key factors that will help you keep safe. You may need to change your plans if necessary.
Where appropriate, it’s important to involve the children in any safety-related decisions. By doing so you’re increasing their awareness of risk and how to manage it.
If you want to tackle something you think may be beyond your ability, it’s worth finding an experienced leader, who holds a relevant Mountain Training qualification to guide you and your family.
The alternative is to upskill yourself, or the whole family, by doing a Hill or Mountain Skills course. These courses are designed for complete beginners or those with some walking experience who want to learn how to look after themselves and enjoy the hills. They’re also supported by Mountain Rescue.
■ To find out more about Plas y Brenin’s hiking and hillwalking courses, you can visit pyb.co.uk/hike
“If a child is exposed to hillwalking from a young age, they are more likely to take it in their stride. It’s not uncommon for children of 8 to be able to walk up Snowdon.”