Hi,
Looking for some help!
I have a 6 year old boy with a thirst for adventure, he has been climbing since he was 4 and is pretty good at top roping and competent at absailing. We have done a couple of 3 mile hikes and wild camps and he is in his element.
I am sure a lot of you have children and take them out into the great outdoors, I was looking for any hand hints and/or adventure details which you may have been on with them!
Cheers !
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 1. Kids *never* consider how far they've got to go *back* to the car/camp/home, until they're too tired to move. Do this bit of thinking for them.
2. "I'm tired" often means "I'm bored".
3. A kid with a job to do (i.e. knowing where they are on the map, looking out for a particular plant or animal) is a kid who's not thinking about how much his feet hurt, so assign tasks at strategic times, i.e. just after (1) or (2) has set in!
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 Have a read of this months Country Walking, they are starting a new series about getting kids into the outdoors.
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Thanks Dave , I'll get a copy Darren sounds like it's one to keep an eye on in the coming months!
Anyone else got anything, routes you have done that your kids loved , anything different ?
Another thing is equipment, why is it that Kids have to have substandard gear, I can find next to nothing for them.....In my mind I want him to be warmer and dryer than me, he won't enjoy himself otherwise, anyone seen any good kids kit ?
Cheers
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 Getting good gear for kids is possible, but can be difficult to find. It's also worth thinking carefully about what they need, you could spend a small fortune on kit that is overspecified for what they are doing and they grow out of in 6 months.
Having said all that Peglars in Arundel have one of the best selections of kids gear I have seen. They have a web page but I can't remember the address, but I found it on Google.
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 I recently took my nine year old up Snowdon and she loved it. I gave her my spare platty to use on the day, and had loadsa sweeties and choccie and stuff on hand to keep them going.
It gets very tedious keeping stopping to get out snacks and drinks...
We went up the Pyg Track and had a ball. Both the kids also loved the Devils Kitchen path up from Oggy. Give them the spiel about it being where they did some filming for "The Lost World" and keep them on the look out for stuff and they were off.
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Took my 10 yr old with dsypraxia up the North Ridge of Tryfan, went round the notch and came up on the South Ridge just below the summit.
Cadair Idris is also a good one.
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Sam had a bit of a bad time on Tryfan. I thought he'd enjoy the danger and the fact that there is no walk in...he didn't he hated the whole thing and I think it sort of confirmed to him how much he doesn't like mountains.
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Even though Nathan didn't make the summit (15feet or so) I still tell him he owns Tryfan. It's his mountain, just because of the heroic effort he put in. It was wet when he did it last September.
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 To tie in with another thread, you could also find one of the plane wrecks in the peaks. I guess location and whether you think your children will be interested (or worried by the whole plane crash idea) is one to decide first, though.
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I avoided taking Dan to see the Canberra crash site in the Carneddau until I'd been there first - and I was glad I did, it's quite a melancholy spot, and probably wouldn't suit him.
Regarding kit, Dan has a Sprayway fleece and jacket (the "Wilderness" model, reviewed here on OM in the "Sprogs" section) and a pair of Brasher kid's boots (basically a smaller version of their adult lightweight boots), for which he was properly fitted in one of our better local outdoor retailers. In preparation for winter, I've just bought him a "down" jacket from La Redoute (direct, via their website), and there are no end of hats, scarves, Buffs and gloves available for kids. The trick is to find kit at prices that you don't mind them growing out of!
Dan also loved the Devil's Kitchen, even though it absolutely chucked it down a couple of times that day. As far as a sense of danger is concerned, the only problem we've had is getting him to develop a healthy one at all!
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On the subject of kids' kit, George Fisher sell a decent range of kids boots and they do a trade-in on them when they outgrow them.
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