Thread: Children's BOB

I'm looking for a content list for a bug out bag for kids. Has anyone come across anything that they can recommend as a starting place. I'm specifically looking to outfit my 7 yo and 11 yo.

Thanks and be prepared

Bugging Out With Children

Not real comprehensive but there is some info there.

My thoughts; keep it simple and light and personal, knit cap, warm jacket and shell, extra socks, comfort item (could be a stuffed animal or favorite small toy(s)), snacks, their own water bottle, flashlight, TP (stash a Bic lighter with the TP in a ziploc). The older one might have a pocket knife. If you can get the gear in their school backpack, and it doesn't wiegh a lot, that should do the trick.

My son is 8 and he has a "emergency bag" right with my mom and dads bags. We kept it as light as possible so he can use what energy he has for walking as far as possible and not pooping out after half a mile. Here's what we included:

*warm socks, underwear, thermal underwear-all vacuum packed to stay dry
*wool watch cap and gloves
*headlamp
*1 Mountain House meal
*2 packs of Ramen
*plastic canteen
*favorite stuffed animal
*deck of playing cards
*whistle
*small emergency poncho
*20' 550 cord
*2 disposable hand warmers

I think for younger kids under 10ish the most important things would be warm dry clothes and a familiar toy. Also important is any meds. We adopted from the foster system so he is on several meds that he needs to be a functional human. We have a small supply ready to go by the emergency bags, enough for a few days at full dose and a week worth of for tapering off if something turns into a long term situation, God forbid. Hope this helps. Kudos for prepping for your kids, we may need it the way things are going.

Survival mom.com

My son started simple. A small 1L bike hydration pack w/ chapstick, granola bars, whistle and gloves. this pack is still intact, but used for local bike rides now. He is now 10 years old and has graduated to a larger 2L pack with a few more items added. Binoculars, compass, multitool, bandanna, sun screen, bandaids, para cord, fire starters(waterproofed matches and firesteel), emergency blanket.

He will always have a hat , sunglasses and proper attire, I hope. Ours is a high desert climate so hydration takes up the bulk of the weight.

Add what you need for your area. Carry a little more in your bag to offset the weight of the smaller ones bags. Too heavy a pack on the little one is no fun for anyone. Take it with you! On a hike, walk on the beach, bike ride, etc... They need to be accustomed to the weight and using what is in it. This keeps the water and food stuffs fresh. What a great thing to have your own bandaid for a skinned knee, or a drink of water when you are thirsty.

There are lots of things for kids and the most important is footware and socks....................................... Believe me plus a hat if cold......

I was lucky enough to spend many days, nights, weeks, and months outdoors and during traing with minimul stuff as you have to use what you have and the things around you....

To practice this just take a random 3 day trip and pretend you have a flat and survive....... It will work and you will realize what you need and the importance of these........

That is the best way to know........ All the books in the world won't do much good unless you put it too use....

It's hard and trust me it is but it is mentally exhausting but thats when you find out if you have it and you will learn a lot...

My 5 year old has a simple school-type backpack that has;
a change of clothes,
a small towel,
a light blanket,
a water bottle,
2 colouring books
Crayons
A couple card games
A flashlight

For the small ones morale is going to be more important than gear. Having a bag that's light but that has familiar things in it and yet is not too heavy is the most important part. For older kids with more muscle mass and a greater amount of reasoning ability I'd pack on some food, a knife or hatchet(or both) and a small med-kit as well. Once the child is in the early teens to adult I'd load them out with an adult's worth of gear.

Thanks everyone! Some great ideas, some of which I'd thought of and let me know I'm on the right track plus a few new ideas and great input on giving it a try beforehand. Thanks one and all!

I carry most of my daughter’s clothes and bivy cover wrapped in a space bag in my pack. She has a backpack with socks, a deck of cards, 1 MRE , water bottle, fire starter, small first aid kit, poncho, 550 cord, and a wool hat. A poncho liner is a light option for a warm blanket. I included some “treats” like the freeze dried ice cream and the like for morale boosters. She is 6 now, so I figure 1-2 miles a day without pushing too hard.

Forget about go bag packs, until you have the kids hooked into hiking. If they don't like hiking, they won't move with weight on. Worse than a Missouri mule.
My 5 year old carries the changing bag for her infant sister. Maybe a book or two. Put it on them going to the store. Put a treat and a drink in it so they never forget it and leave it behind. Practice, take them hiking with you often. Start light. And bless the lord you don't have to carry them too.

Hiking with scouts 11-up I ran into all abilities. Some we had to pack everything for, and some who would kit out well, if light and travel with the rest.

Originally Posted by darkminstrel

My 5 year old has a simple school-type backpack that has;
a change of clothes,
a small towel,
a light blanket,
a water bottle,
2 colouring books
Crayons
A couple card games
A flashlight

For the small ones morale is going to be more important than gear. Having a bag that's light but that has familiar things in it and yet is not too heavy is the most important part. For older kids with more muscle mass and a greater amount of reasoning ability I'd pack on some food, a knife or hatchet(or both) and a small med-kit as well. Once the child is in the early teens to adult I'd load them out with an adult's worth of gear.

I totally agree on the morale piece. We will just be lucky if our 2.5 year old walks most of the way. We have a backpack for him, we kept it as light as possible but we don't really expect him to carry it. change of clothes, hat, socks, small snacks, juicebox, water bottle, couple of diapers, baby wipes, fun flashlight, whistle/compass combo (I know, he can't use a compass!).

At a young age (I'd guess under 7 depending on maturity level) they have very little chance of survival if they get separated from their parents...so IMO it isn't quite as importatnt that their pack be self sufficient like each adult's pack should. As long as each adult's pack is self sufficient then all the child's pack really needs is personal items like clothes, a little comfort food, small light weight toys. I included the whistle because in the event that he DOES get separated from us (God frobid) then the whistle could help re-unite everyone. The flashlight may keep him from getting scared. We also put a roll of TP in his pack cuz it's lightweight and there wasn't much space left in the adult packs. Oh and I put a bunch of plastic grocery store bags wadded up in one of the pockets....lightweight and I thought we might need those.