Being a mom of 4 kids makes any simple task a challenge. Grocery shopping takes a special eye to keep track of kids and those little hands that grab everything. Some times I wonder why I bother going to church due to the fact that I hear nothing as I try to silently break up fights and keep little ones quiet. Even the simple task of leaving the house seems daunting and can take an entire 30 minutes!
While each of these things is so much harder than it should be, each is rewarding. Grocery shopping is miserable, but it keeps me motivated to plan ahead of time so I don’t have to go shopping more which in turn saves us money. I am blessed going to church, even if I don’t hear anything. When I finally leave the house with my kids I can go on adventures and create memories.
No matter how daunting the task is, it is always more worth it to do with kids. So of course the same rules apply to hiking with kids. I am not going to lie, hiking with kids can be really hard sometimes, but it is one of the most rewarding activities I have done with my children! So I am here to teach you how to make the impossible thought of hiking with kids, possible!
Why Should You Hike With Toddlers?
These pictures are the reason I love to hike. Sure we get to explore, see amazing sights, get a great workout, and spend time in nature. Those are all reasons I love hiking, but the number one reason is watching my kids truly live.
I love listening to my son ask me about the animals that live where we are hiking. I love watching my little ones climb rocks and trees with no fear. There is nothing like watching my daughter hike in the front, because she has the confidence to lead us. It wouldn’t feel like a real hike if my kids didn’t compete to find the tallest tree or the biggest stick.
Trust me, when a kid is completely immersed in nature you will never see a more amazing sight. The lessons your kids will learn when hiking are the lessons you are trying so hard to teach them at home. TAKE THEM HIKING!
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Things that are essential to hike with a toddler:
- Water- bring more than enough!! Trust me those little kiddos are small, but on a hike they will drink a ton! Carrying a bunch of water bottles is absolutely no fun at all so I highly recommend you invest in a camel pack. Just a small back pack with a bladder inside to carry water. Super easy to drink out of too!
- Snacks- not gonna lie bribery with snacks is the best way to get a toddler to hike. I don’t blame them I will do almost anything for food too! Our favorite hiking snacks are the applesauce squeeze packs and fruit leather! Then at the end of the hike they usually get a dumdum sucker!
- Hiking backpack– I never go on a hike without one! Sometimes toddlers will hike the entire hike and sometimes they will only hike for 5 minutes! Always have one just in case. They are nice too, due to having pockets to carry snacks, diapers, and wipes. Also having a shaded carrier protects your toddler from getting burned in the sun. If you are hiking with a toddler and a baby, then bring a baby front harness as well. Carry one on your back and one on your front!
- Sunscreen- hiking involves being outdoors. Outdoors equals sun. Bring sunscreen! Even if it doesn’t seem sunny, you can still get burned. I love the spray sunscreen for many reasons. For one it is quick and easy to put on an impatient and squirming toddler. Also it smells good, doesn’t leave your skin greasy and oily, doesn’t make your skin white or your hands slimy.
- Diapers and Wipes- unless you want to carry a poopy toddler a mile back to the car, you might want to bring a back up! Also wipes are great for wiping up dirty hands before snacks and if your potty trained toddler needs to take a potty break in the woods. Bring some small doggie bags for the trash. Also a diaper changing pad can be extremely helpful!
- Bug spray- again being outdoors means bugs! I personally don’t enjoy getting eatin alive by little bloodsuckers. Off brand seems to be the best smelling and still strong enough spray. Also the spray cans are easier for coating squirming toddlers over the squirt bottles.
- Hats– sunscreen really makes a difference in whether or not your kiddos will get sunburned. Problem is trying to protect the top of their head from getting burned. Either make their hair super greasy, by spraying a whole can of sunscreen in their hair, or invest in a cap!
- Hiking shoes– toddlers are clumsy and adventurous. They will rarely stay on the path, but instead climb rocks and trees causing them to slip and fall. Hiking shoes will make a world of difference in how their little feet handle the trails.
So let’s get down to it, how in the world do you hike with a toddler?
Slow Down
When you are planning to go on your hike and you read the average time is about 1 hour, plan for 2. You are walking with a little human being called a toddler. Toddlers are either too fast or too slow! For one they have little legs and so their stride is significantly smaller than an adults. They have to work twice as hard to walk the same length you do. So slow down. They are working very hard to do the same thing you are.
Be Patient
Also be patient cause a toddler is a toddler. They are curious, adventurous, excited, dramatic, and they are everywhere! They are distracted by everything! On our last hike my son wanted to carry the biggest rock on the trail. He was constantly dropping rocks and picking up new ones.
My daughter was pretending to be Spiderman and crawling on the ground while flipping occasionally. My son wanted to play peek-a-boo in the trees. My daughter wanted to climb the trees. My son wanted to draw on the rocks with rocks. Then there is the constant up and down of wanting to be carried then wanting to walk.
Toddlers are anywhere and everywhere, so if you want to hike with a toddler, be patient and slow down! They will mirror your emotions so if you are frustrated they will be too. Trust me hiking with a frustrated toddler is no fun at all. Be patient, they are having an adventure! Let them love what they are doing just like you do.
Know your max and always remember you have to go back
I have learned that 2.5-3 miles is the max I can do with my toddlers. Sure we could do more, but pushing a toddler too far will make them tired and grumpy. When they reach this point of exhaustion they are going to start to hate hiking and are going to fight you anytime you mention hiking.
It may take a couple tries, but pay attention on each of your hikes and take notice to when your toddler starts to hit that exhaustion point. That way you can learn your max and how far you can go.
YOU NEED TO LEARN YOUR LIMITS TOO! You are most likely going to end up carrying your toddlers at some point in time on your hike. Learn your max to carrying your toddlers. I have learned that I can go about 1 mile in total with a kid in the hiking carrier, one in the baby carrier, and holding one to my side. I know I am crazy, but when you have all your kids less then 2 years apart you have to get creative. Knowing this I have to pick hikes in my mileage range as well as the kiddos.
Make it a game
The fear of hiking with kids is that they will stop or complain the entire way. If you want to avoid this than make it fun for your kids. Making something fun is essential to anything that has to do with a toddler. You want them to potty train, you make it fun. You want to get through grocery shopping, you make it fun. Lets say you want them to make it through a hike, you make it fun!
My favorite game with my toddlers is to find something on our hike, in particular a deer or a lizard. My daughter spends the rest of the hike looking for the lizard, calling out for the lizard, or making up stories as to where the lizard is.
My son loves rocks and sticks, so we all play a game to see who can find the biggest one. Make it fun and make it a game. As long as you keep them laughing and smiling, they will love to hike and they will keep hiking. If you want to hike with a toddler it has to be fun! For a list of our favorite hiking games, click here.
Help them
Go into your hike with the knowledge that you will most likely be carrying your toddler most of the hike. Hence the reason the hiking carrier backpack and baby harness come in handy. Even when my 22 month old son is walking on his own, I am constantly picking him up from tripping over rocks. Throughout our hikes I am pushing my daughter over huge boulders, holding my kiddos hands when we get too close to an edge, and helping them crawl over fallen trees.
Your toddlers will need your help, so constantly give them a hand. If they don’t get help, they won’t enjoy it, and you can kiss hiking goodbye.
Take breaks
You may not need a break, but your little ones are working twice as hard to keep up with you. A way for us to hike so far with our toddlers is that we give them a point to make it to, and if they can make it to that point they get a break plus a snack. So for instance I will tell them if they make it to the top of the hill they get a break or when we find the next shaded spot they can sit down for a snack. This also gives them something to look forward to which is exciting.
On our breaks my toddlers get to sit, drink water, and eat a reward (a fruit snack, a sucker, or some kind of treat). When we get to a break spot it doesn’t mean they actually sit and take a break, usually they just play around in the dirt or climb a giant rock, but it is a fun stop for them and keeps them motivated to keep going.
Let them touch stuff and climb rocks, let them explore
You are on an adventure, so let them be adventurous. Let them explore and play. My toddlers are absolutely fearless, but this is because I let them experience things. I let my daughter climb trees and rocks instead of freaking out that she is doing something dangerous.
Obviously I don’t let her get too high or on something really dangerous, but I let her figure things out on her own. When parents are scared of everything and tell kids not to do stuff, then the kids are scared and won’t try anything. Don’t instill fear in your kids, let them explore and have adventures.
They will have so much fun on hikes if you let them jump on rocks, climb trees, smell flowers, and whatever fun thing they can think of. If you are going to hike with a toddler, than let them be a toddler; let them explore!
Be aware of wildlife and threats of trails
Before going on a hike there are a couple things you need to be aware of. One of the number one things you need to know to keep your toddler safe is what wildlife is in the area. A simple way to find out is to look up wildlife alerts in your area. Also the parks and recreation websites for the area you are hiking will have warnings and alerts. Know the snakes, bugs, predators, and even the prey of the area; so you can teach your children and know how to protect them.
For instance in the area I live the number one wildlife I need to be aware of are Moose (which can be very dangerous) and mountain lions. We often travel to Grand Junction, Colorado as well and our biggest threats there are rattlesnakes and cactus. Know the dangers of the trails before you go so that you can best prepare for them. If you want to hike with a toddler, you need to learn how to keep them safe.
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