Finally moving to "our forest"; wanting to teach caution without scaring the kids.

[SweetSilver]

At first this was just going to be about area hunters, but I realized, what with bobcat and cougar and black bear being at least occasional visitors that I needed to widen the scope of my question.

We live surrounded by private land, not many homes, elk in the winter, and the area attracts the occasional hunter, sometimes illegal.  This doesn't happen that often anymore with more people living nearby, but a salal picker was just killed in a hunting accident in an area state forest because the salal worker was not wearing or required to wear orange gear and was given permission to pick in an area that was open to hunting at that time.  Scares me to think that my kids could be involved in an accident in their own "playground"!  I guess I am less afraid they will be mistaken for deer than I am just getting hit by a bullet because a hunter didn't think anyone was nearby.

They are 5 and 7 and are easily spooked, so I want to give them some guidelines about this and wildlife without actually scaring them out of their wits (something my grandpa did!  And it worked!)

How have other families approached these issues?

And, I must say this, normally I am happy to have to thread go off topic a bit, being more fun and all, but please don't let this digress into a hunting debate!

[Imakcerka]

Well you could put up signs around your property.  Then have orange vests waiting by the back door for when they go out to play.  If they're leaving the "yard" they need to wear them.  Keep it normal and a natural thing. 

[FarmerBeth]

Like above poster, we keep the hunting vests handy and we're just matter of fact.  We have a lot of coyotes (big Eastern type, some with 90% wolf DNA), black bears and bobcats. The kids spend a lot of time in the woods.  I also have a summer job as a trail guide at the local nature resort.  I tell the kids to go in the woods together and talk or sing so as not to accidentally come up on an animal. If alone, you can wear a bear bell or carry your keys out so they jangle. For bears, never play dead.  Make a big noise and back away without making direct eye contact.  Never climb a tree or run away as they are better at climbing and running.  Coyotes are particularly wary of noises.  A boat whistle works well to scare them.  Most wild cats won't go near if they hear you.  The great thing about kids is that most are kind of noisy, anyway.  I don't scare my kids about hunters or wild animals, we just have matter of fact rules.  I've been thinking about putting up signs like Imakcerka said above, as my back acreage is like hunting commons and it's not very farm compatible, right at a point that we're finally making some farm related income beyond breaking even.  The tricky thing is that in a rural location, everyone gets to know you very quickly and you have to pick your battles carefully. 

[SweetSilver]

I should have mentioned that my oldest is a really nervy girl.  I could *mention* bears in general and she gets a bit scared.  It is a trick to keep things "matter of fact" because I risk making her fearful.  This is a hard balance to strike, as I am a very chatty person, and tend to think out loud and probably bring something up when it could wait for a better time.  I tend to bring it up when I think about it, a habit that being a mom is making me relearn-- to keep my mouth shut until talking about it is necessary.

So, my trouble is not merely what to say, it is also how do I approach this with a sensitive kid?  Being matter-of-fact is a start, but I know I will be dealing with fearfulness as a result.  We've talked about coming face-to-face with different animals in a general sort of way at "Wolf Camp" and that was fun as a game and hopefully some of it sunk in.  I do know she didn't seem to be made more afraid by it.  But in this instance, it will be more site-specific and closer to reality.

I do like the idea of just being noisy, something my grandpa would have bristled at, but it is such a good preventative for all manner of dangers.

[FarmerBeth]

For the hunter orange bit, you could just buy winter coats that color that look cool, and then maybe you wouldn't have to scare her driving home the point about the vests over the hunters.  My Dad did that with us a lot, he only bought red or orange winter coats so there weren't any choices to wear that weren't safe.  Hunter orange touques are useful, too, slip over the head and go.

The wolf camp stuff probably did sink in.  It's amazing in a real situation how much comes back to you.

A walking stick is a fun thing to make, makes walking on the trail easier and doubles as defense against wild animals.  It would be a pretty natural reaction as long as a walking stick was present, and you wouldn't have to directly bring up the wild animal bit. 

The more you directly get out in the woods with your kids, the more they will just absorb your habits as a matter of fact, and your confidence from frequently getting out as a "woodperson" will probably help your daughter's confidence.  My own daughter is very nervous any time we go to town because of all the traffic and people.  I haven't had a lot of chances to model handling it, and I myself get kind of nervous in town.  But because we spend time together in the woods, and she knows I've shown her what she needs to know, she's very comfortable there, as are my two boys.  A lot of both safety and confidence/lack of fearfulness, are about spending time in practice at something mentored by someone you trust. 

[SweetSilver]

Originally Posted by FarmerBeth 

The more you directly get out in the woods with your kids, the more they will just absorb your habits as a matter of fact, and your confidence from frequently getting out as a "woodperson" will probably help your daughter's confidence.  My own daughter is very nervous any time we go to town because of all the traffic and people.  I haven't had a lot of chances to model handling it, and I myself get kind of nervous in town.  But because we spend time together in the woods, and she knows I've shown her what she needs to know, she's very comfortable there, as are my two boys.  A lot of both safety and confidence/lack of fearfulness, are about spending time in practice at something mentored by someone you trust. 

Of course!  That's exactly what needs to be done.  I just stress about relaying the information.  I just forgot that, of course, I would be modeling much of those habits and attitudes myself.  Thanks for helping!

[FarmerBeth]

You're welcome!  Have fun exploring!

[sosurreal09]

We have a great kids CD about what to do when you see a mountain lion, black bear etc! http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jeffkagan

It's really informative and not annoying either!

[JPiper]

We live in the woods, and our older daughter (almost 7) can be a bit of a nervous nellie.  I like suggestions already posted.  We remind our kids that most animals don't want to be around people and generally won't bother us, but we have taught them not to approach animals and to come tell us immediately if they see one in the yard.  Our property is well posted and we do use extra caution when outside during hunting season (bright colors, etc.).  

We also mindful not to attract unwanted animals and are careful with garbage, no food left in the cars, bird feeders, etc... We enjoy looking at tracks in the snow and keeping our eyes out for other evidence of animals and making educated guesses about what they are doing, where they are going, etc...  We are raising them to be aware and to observers of the world around them, but not so cautious that they are not comfortable playing outside.

Two years ago we had a young bear wandering around the bus stop.  He was a bit too curious for comfort, but eventually wondered off and didn't come back.  It was a little scary for our 5 year old for a few days, but now she thinks of it as a pretty cool story to tell!

I did have a scary time when my oldest son was a toddler....  I came home one night in the fall, very dark out, no one else home, and noticed the shed door open  and bird seed can open.  I noticed all this and thought, hmmmm, a bear must have been here.  Stupid, stupid me. I left my son asleep in his car seat and the car door open for some light to run into the house and turn on outside lights.  The car was full of groceries...I wasn't thinking.  After flipping the lights on, I turned to find a big bear sniffing at the car (sleeping toddler...car door open...food in car--panic!).  It was scary. I made a bunch of noise and scared that hungry bear off enough to get my son in the house and car door closed.  After the fact,total panicked meltdown ensued.  That bear then paced on our porch for hours, etc..., up on back legs peaking in the door and no amount of banging would scare him off.   It was the first time I wished I had hadn't been a ninny about learning to use a gun.

[SweetSilver]

Originally Posted by JPiper 

I did have a scary time when my oldest son was a toddler....  I came home one night in the fall, very dark out, no one else home, and noticed the shed door open  and bird seed can open.  I noticed all this and thought, hmmmm, a bear must have been here.  Stupid, stupid me. I left my son asleep in his car seat and the car door open for some light to run into the house and turn on outside lights.  The car was full of groceries...I wasn't thinking.  After flipping the lights on, I turned to find a big bear sniffing at the car (sleeping toddler...car door open...food in car--panic!).  It was scary. I made a bunch of noise and scared that hungry bear off enough to get my son in the house and car door closed.  After the fact,total panicked meltdown ensued.  That bear then paced on our porch for hours, etc..., up on back legs peaking in the door and no amount of banging would scare him off.   It was the first time I wished I had hadn't been a ninny about learning to use a gun.

Years ago a friend mentioned he always had one or two noisy fireworks to set off when he was in bear country.  

[Peony]

I grew up on a lot of land, it during hunting season we were just extra careful. Hunters shouldn't of been on our property but it happened. We would wear orange vests while riding and put orange ribbons in the main and tail of the horses. We live closer to town now then when i was a kid so I don't get worried about hunters here but wildlife yes! We have numerous bears and the a mountain lion here and there. We teach bear safety, back away slowly, back yourself look big, make noise. I don't allow the kids outside to play when it is starting to get dusk in the summer, there are just too many bears, we have them come by every night some years.  Mountain lions scare me more because they are much more unpredictable. We've had a couple go after humans here in the last couple years. I do prefer to send my kids outside in pairs.