Bugging out with kids

I listened to about 10mins to check it's potential usefulness for you but I don't have kids. Seems to me that the speaker was talking about how to educate kids and not scare them and how to get them into the right space in them. I've also heard others mention making things a game for them, important games to play might be the quiet game, hide and seek etc.

I trying to get adults to play nerf wars lol.

We have 4 kids all under 12 (two very young). Very tough situation for bugging out - but therefore planning is all the more important.

1. What do you consider the pros/cons of bugging out with kids?

The pros - Dependent upon the disaster, we would want to have the kids away from populated areas quickly. Trying to manage kids in-house if there is say a health disaster, would be a nightmare. Trying to manage kids amongst chaos (ok kids are chaos), would be a disaster. The pro is that in getting them out quickly, we mitigate other risks and have them in a location whereby we can manage their welfare more effectively.

Cons - Organising the kids can be a challenge. Managing them in a time of disaster would be difficult, especially if they are exposed to anything traumatic. But it is better early than late.

2. What would you do to make it easier and safer, and maximise your chances of getting somewhere safe?

Planning and getting out early! We will have all supplies ready at our bug out location, and regularly rehearse with the kids to go stay at our 'bush retreat' / go camping. Only needing to manage the kids rather than having to also manage additional supplies would be too difficult. We want to grab the kids and go!

3. What do you consider the pros/cons of staying home with kids?

I'm sure some would disagree with my opinion (especially that I'm the newbie here). The only pro I can see is that you can immediately put plans into action and can avoid potential issues that would be found on the road. The cons, however, I think far outweigh the pros. Suburban homes will be easily targeted, only offer a certain level of protection and once it is too late to get out... You are SOL!

4. What would you do to make it safe and sustainable?

Assuming you mean making the home option safe and sustainable - I'd be putting in a hidden backyard shelter that offers security in the case of the house being attacked/broken into. Ensure that there are as many supplies in there as possible too. The problems will be on truly sustaining that in the event of a disaster. My biggest concern is that society will very quickly break down into anarchy. The nice neighbour down the road will happily kill someone in order to protect his own family (who wouldn't if we are honest?). If he, and others are banging on the door, it's only a matter of time until they get in. Pessimistic perhaps - but I am a cynical b@stard!

We only have one young'un (around 1 yr), can't imagine how I would go about organising 4 of them!

I am confident in "bugging out" with my 3 young kids (7, 3, 0.5) should SHTF, but I have a lot of experience in it. I know I am the newbie, but I am happy to share what info and tips I can. As a very brief background for you, my mum is aboriginal and so I have been part-time suburbanite/part-time living off the land all my life, plus I have been travelling interstate regularly with my babies for the past 6 years, mostly by train (therefore on foot, and with at least 1 baby and 1 toddler, solo!).

The following points should be considered as age-appropriate additions to your current B.O.B supplies..

For age 0-2:
* An absolute must, is a comfortable carrier. There are plenty of baby-wearing groups that can help you decide which but an "Ergo", "Manduca" or "Tula" is a fool-proof carrier that buckles on and off fast, fits any adult and safely carries newborns thru to older toddlers. My husband still uses his Ergo to comfortably carry our 3yo. For me, I prefer a woven wrap, for ultimate carry-them-all-day comfort and versatility, but these require more time to get on and off and to learn the different wrapping methods. Carrying older walking-age toddlers and preschoolers is much preferable to chasing them when they inevitably run off, or walking slowly at their pace!!! It makes sense for the breastfeeding mother to carry the breastfed child (in case family members get separated) but bottle-fed or weaned children should be carried by the strongest adult, while the second strongest adult takes the heavier pack. A small pack can still be carried by the adult carrying a child. Hiking backpacks with integrated baby carrying are generally expensive, heavy, and do not cater to carrying larger toddlers / children.
* If you dont/cant/didnt breastfeed, then bottles and formula will certainly add to your carry weight, but it isn't impossible. My son wasn't able to be breastfed, so I travelled with bottles all the time. For a baby bug-out bag, use the smallest snaplock bags and measure out scoops of formula for each bottle (1x bottle's worth per bag). The snaplocks weigh less and take up less room than the formula tin, plus it reduces contamination risks while preparing bottles on-the-go. Work out how many your bub needs for 72hrs (or whatever time period you are basing your bug-out bags on) and then add an extra days worth back up. For bottles, I recommend the disposable kits which contain several complete single use bottles in sterile packs. They are lighter and provide truly sterile bottles when you dont have the means to sterilise. These *can* be reused if cleaned carefully and adequately, but they will deteriorate over time, and of course will no longer be sterile after the first use. Major hospitals no longer recommend sterilising as necessary anymore, and certainly not after the age of 6 months anyway, so the value of sterilised bottles is only in camping situations. Buy bottled water if you have access to it, or pack supplies for filtering and boiling local water sources.
* Nappies... I would highly recommend EC training from birth, but for those currently with nappy-wearing bubs: pack enough disposables for a standard 72 hrs, plus 6-8 old fashioned cloth squares. Learn how to fold them! Trust me, as "pretty" as the MCN's are, they just do not compare to the practicality of the folded squares. They can easily be washed by hand in any water source you have access to, and dry in a few hours. MCNs cannot be easily washed because of the multiple layers, and take several days to dry. The squares can also be easily repurposed as clothing, bedding, towels, bandages, filtration tools, etc.
* a good-quality natural fibre blanket - merino wool is great, temperature regulating for all seasons. Make sure it is fairly compact in size but adequate to your baby's needs. If you take the route of using a woven wrap as a carrier, you can skip the need for a good blanket. A quality linen/cotton/silk/merino wrap will serve as a blanket and can also be used as an adult-sized hammock or baby/child swing.

For age 3-5:
* A toddler sized carrier (see notes above). Highly recommend a woven wrap, but a full-buckle carrier will serve.
* A filtering water bottle such as the Fill2Pure or LifeStraw bottles. These are much easier for young kids to operate in a familiar format, instead of relying on purification tablets, or other methods. Young children need small sips often, to stay hydrated. So a bottle they can sip from at leisure just makes sense.
* A small backpack not exceeding 10% of their body weight, containing their security item/s, small easy snacks, and their water bottle.

For age 6-12:
* This age group can carry some type of scaled down BOB, perhaps absolute bare necessities for 24hrs in case of separation from the family, however do not let their pack weight exceed 10% body weight.
* Filtering water bottles are a good idea in this age group as well.

For age 13+:
* Bags as for adults, but limit pack weight to no more than 20% body weight during the puberty growth-spurt years.
* for females of menstruating age, remember to pack sanitary items, but consider reusable options such as a "moon cup" or quick-drying washable cloth pads.

Some extra considerations for bugging out on foot, or long-term camping:
* Betadine liquid is an easy antiseptic for blisters, scratches and other minor skin breeches. Every pack should carry some.
* Antihistamines (tablets and oral liquid) *can* save your life in the event of serious reactions from insect bites, food allergy, and other reactions. Every pack should carry some.
* Learn first aid. A correctly bound snake bite or spider bite, kept bound for 4-5 days, can save your life, giving your body time to naturally breakdown the poison before removing the binding. Learn how to do it, and carry pressure bandages.

Spreading the load:
* Each baby and toddler should have their extra specialty items in a separate bag, which can easily be transferred between adult BOBs depending on who is carrying that child. The child and their specific equipment should not be separated.
* Older children not yet big enough to carry all of their supplies, should carry bare essentials only, with extra supplies distributed evenly between the packs of their carers. Again, this extra should be separately bagged so that their items can be quickly transferred to an alternative carer if necessary.

Fantastic advice there! I think we just became best friends - I'm another huge fan of babywearing (I prefer wrapping, hubby likes the carrier and I am stalking gumtree for a Tula for him) and we use MCNs here but I also have the nappy squares - I agree they are just so versatile!

If you get a second (and are comfortable doing so), why don't you introduce yourself here: ausprep.com/board/1/introduction-boards?

It sounds like you have a wealth of information and experience to offer!

I don't think you're nuts or crazy.

Actually, you make me want to jump on a plane and come spend a week with you, getting a crash course in Everything You Know.

I was thinking about how feeding the kids will be best as I know with my lil man if he sees a box of snacks he'll eat the whole box in 1 sitting, so I found the best way to solve that problem is to divide the snacks into day rations and that way I can make it last. I have also done this to the rest of the food and in doing so now know how many day of food I have before it all runs out, when I only have a few days of food left I can make sure I'm in a good place to hunt or fish for food. Also if I find areas I can hunt or fish along the way I can make the food last a bit longer too, also each days snack rations can be put into a cooler lunch box so you don't have to go into the food box. This trick can be used at home or on the road, I have been using this trick with my son for a while now so he know that if he's hungry he brings me his snack bag, more often he's already taken out what he wanted already though and brings it to me to zip up again.